


The Night of the Hawke

by Darkwolves602



Category: Dragon Age II
Genre: Blackmail, Blindfolds, F/F, Food Sex, Tranquil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-30
Updated: 2015-10-30
Packaged: 2018-04-28 23:46:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 30,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5109908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkwolves602/pseuds/Darkwolves602
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Even as the Templars Exalted March continues to rid the city of apostates and the underground resistance to their rule continues. Hawke, seeking only peace for the city and safety for those she cares for, finds herself bound by the very people who are charged with seeing the city safe. For now at least, she must learn to play the Templars game.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Hawke and the Elf

Her heart raced wildly in her chest, the young girls Elven mind was wracked with panic and her feet refused to remain planted to the soft carpeted floor spread beneath her soleless shoes. She continued to pace backwards and forwards, the unfamiliarity of her plush surroundings ensuring that the country Dalish elf remained ever more on edge.

“Ugh” Merrill groaned, she clasped her palms over her face, shielding her sensitive eyes from the light of the candles scattered around the room bathing the room in a warm, serene glow. “ _Have I made a mistake? By the dread wolf, what would she say? What if she-_ ”

“Merrill?” a confident voice broke the looming silence, freezing Merrill in mid-step. The stunned elf silently lifted her face from her cupped palms, turning to acknowledge the source of the voice. A figure stood in the doorway, a tall woman dressed in the simple yet elegant clothes of a Hightown noble, the master of the estate, Brianna Hawke.

“Oh thank goodness you are here” Merrill stepped forward to greet her visitor. “I thought you had gone to the Hanged Man” Merrill stepped wistfully to the side, her gaze floating across the room. “And I almost went there to look for you first but then I thought you’d gone to see your uncle instead...” Merrill slowly trailed off, her head lowering in quiet submission, eventually she raised her head with bashful gaze. “And I am rambling aren’t I?”

Hawke simply smiled sweetly back at her. “I don’t mind, you are adorable when you are flustered”

“After you left I...” Merrill trailed off, searching her frantic mind for the correct words. “I could not stop thinking about Pal and the mirror and everything that has happened. I wonder if I made a mistake, leaving the Dalish”

“You are just feeling homesick, don’t second guess yourself” Hawke reassured her Elven companion.

“I suppose if I hadn’t left my people I never would have met you. I am not like you, and I wish that I were” Merrill smiled bashfully, always someone who could see the bright side of any situation. “You are beautiful and clever and you never make any mistakes and I... I do not deserve you”

“Of course you do, it is I who does not deserve someone like you” Brianna could not deny the influence Merrill had been to her over the past few years since Hawke had accepted her into her group.

“I have made a mess of things, I know that” Merrill’s gaze lowered, her fingers intertwining together in her nervous habit. “It is foolish of me to even dream that you might...”

“You do not have to dream about it” Hawke stepped forward, taking Merrill’s chin in her long fingers. “It is alright” Hawke leant forward, gliding her lips towards Merrill’s, their lips met in an explosive flurry of warm human passion and serene, magical Dalish influence.

Brianna finally shattered the embrace, the cold touch of the night air cascading over her lips in the absence of Merrill’s warm touch. Merrill held Hawke’s hands in her delicate fingers, raising her hands from her sides Merrill gently began to tug, pulling her companion towards the bed behind them. Merrill’s knees caught on the edge of the bed, the joint collapsing in upon themselves and pulling her companion down on top of her. Merrill bounced as she impacted the soft mattress, their two bodies pressing warmly together, the lovers giggling sweetly as their legs became entangled at the end of the bed.

Savouring the momentum Hawke lips pounced atop Merrill’s, the two of them quickly becoming enveloped in the intense passion of their shared kiss. Hawke could feel the gentle touch of Merrill’s tongue slowly slipping past her lips and into the warm alcove of her partners waiting mouth. Hawke clashed her tongue against Merrill’s, warm human power struck serene Elven magic. The two of them collided in a duel of pleasure, Hawke had reach, but Merrill had flexibility. In the end both proved too difficult for either party to overcome, instead they retreated from the kiss, each of them grasping for much needed breaths.

Hawke smiled down at her Dalish counterpart, Merrill returning the warm gesture. “The human noble, rising from obscurity to become a powerful force in the contested city of Kirkwall” Merrill spoke in a wistful voice. “And as she fights demons, bandits and corrupt city officials at her side stands her Dalish sorcerer. Cast aside by her own people and thrust into the underworld of an unforgiving city the secret Blood Mage seeks comfort in the arms of her fearless leader” Merrill leant forward, nuzzling her nose against Hawkes. “And her love is well returned”

Hawke giggled sweetly. “Sounds like one of Varrics fantasy novels” Hawke placed her lips to Merrill’s ear. “And I think we both know how they always end”

 

Merrill giggled in the sweet, innocent way that she did. “Well...” Merrill clasped her palms across Hawkes sides, her long fingers massaging the tense muscles beneath her skin. “Maybe this could be one of Varrics novels?”

“What are you thinking?” Merrill asked naively.

“I don’t know. What are you thinking I was thinking?” Hawke responded with another question.

“I don’t know what I was thinking you were thinking” Merrill replied, the cycle of banter spiralling ever deeper and becoming ever harder to maintain. Merrill ran her finger tips across the length of Hawkes bicep. “My imagination is a little dry” Merrill giggled. “Maybe you could show me what you mean?”

A devious smile grew across Hawkes naturally pink lips. “I think I can arrange that” Brianna rose into a crouch beside her Elven mage, dancing her shoulders in a seductively devious movement, enticing Merrill’s wandering gaze. Brianna lowered herself into a panther crouch on the bed over her elven companion, her fingers snaking their way across Merrill’s stomach as Briannas adventurous hands descended ever further down Merrill’s chest. Briannas hands snaked along the length of Merrill’s creamy thighs, the humans finger tips grazing daringly close to Merrill’s covered centre, but for now the human did not dare to intrude upon such hallowed ground. Instead Hawke allowed her fingers to continue down the length of Merrill’s thighs, finally breaking the soft contact between Hawkes finger tips and Merrill’s covered skin. “Maybe a little disrobing first to entice you” Hawke suggested with a soft giggle.

Brianna stepped back, slipping off of the bed entirely her feet touched the floor as she glided serenely across the space between them, her gaze never faltering from Merrill’s until Hawke turned on her heel, placing her back to her elven partner. Hawke traced the tip of her fingers up along the sides of her stomach, feeling the soft material running beneath the touch of her skin. Brianna hooked her finger tips beneath the rim of her sand brown top, slowly trailing the material up across her stomach to reveal another slither of pale white skin with each gentle pull.

Hawke began to feel the creeping taint of hesitation seeping into her, the touch of eyes burning into her back. During her youth she had enjoyed her fair share of physical relationships, and had felt few reservations about disrobing before her partners before. However things felt different with Merrill, of course they had both seen eachother laid bare whilst treating eachothers wounds and injuries incurred in battle, but that was an entirely different context.

Hawke steeled herself; holding the rim of her blouse tightly in her hands she began to draw it further upwards. Hawke dared to glance back over her shoulder to meet Merrill’s gaze, what greeted her was surprising. Merrill was crouched on all fours atop the bed, her head cocked to one side inquisitively like Shadow, Hawkes Mabari War hound, staring at the exotic array of birds which perched on the balcony each morning. Merrill even had the same blank, lost deep in thought, expression.

“Merrill” Hawke asked, releasing Merrill from her serene trance. “What are you doing?”

Merrill maintained her peculiar stance. “Isabella told me that if you stare at your families crest from the side you can see something hidden inside of it” Merrill’s features scrunched up like the folds of Shadows loose skin. “I can’t really see much though”

Brianna rolled her eyes. “ _Oh Isabella_ ” Brianna knew that it would fall to her to set her naive companion straight on a few such issues. Brianna bit her lip and snapped herself around sharply, swiftly yanking her blouse up over the gentle mound of her bust she held her chest out freely for Merrill’s eyes to savour. “See anything you like now?”

Merrill flopped to the side unceremoniously onto the bed, the act failed to instil Brianna with confidence in her appearance. “Yeah” the word wistfully cascaded past Merrill’s lips. “Very nice things in fact”

A sweet smile formed across her lips, her wavering confidence instilled by Merrill’s words as she threw her first article of clothing of the night aside. Brianna reached down and slipped off her boots, discarding them into an unimportant corner of the spacious room. Raising herself straight she ran the tips of her fingers across her exposed legs towards the hem of her skirt, her finger tips caught beneath the hem of her skirt and drawing the fabric up to reveal a tantalising glimpse of what lay beneath before her skirt slipped from her loose grip and fluttered back into place. Brianna’s fingers continued their ascent upwards until they reached the belt of her knee length skirt. Brianna hooked her finger tips beneath the lip of her skirt, slowly beginning to draw the material down across her sculpted thighs.

Briannas skirt began to gain momentum, its descent now irreversible as it passed the threshold of her knees, eventually landing at Brianna’s feet. Brianna stepped out of her skirt, only her top draped loosely across her shoulders and her modest underwear concealing her intimate areas against wandering eyes. Brianna gripped the sides of her top, drawing the separate halves wide like a phoenix spreading its magnificent wings. Brianna fluttered her ‘wings’ like a gentle breeze, drawing Merrill’s gaze with her tantalising display of alluring dancing. Brianna allowed her top to slip from her shoulders, the light fabric flowing seamlessly across her shoulders and down her back to flutter to the floor.

Brianna stood before her elven partner, bare from the waist upwards, strong and silent in the face of Merrill’s devious eyes caressing her naked skin. Brianna rapidly leapt into motion, charging forward she leapt into the air as though she were a predator preparing to tear at her prey. Briannas ravenous hands scurried across Merrill’s covered front, feeling the soft material form and move beneath her finger tips. Briannas hands descended down her flat Elven stomach, Briannas fingers hooking beneath Merrill’s tights, pawing and wrestling the rebellious clothing from Merrill’s legs. Brianna threw the unimportant piece of clothing aside, Brianna scrambled up Merrill’s figure, her eyes red with blood rage staring down into Merrill’s calm, collected features.

Merrill smiled her innocent smile which always melted her heart. “Are we going to make love now?”

Brianna merely smiled in response. “I guess so”

Merrill was adorable, naive and uncorrupted by the dark evils of the physical world. It reminded Brianna of her younger self; it returned her to her first time with another. Brianna lay atop her proud and defiant, Merrill’s eyes stared into the centre of Briannas well formed breasts. “I like your bosoms” Merrill said meekly. “They’re very, round” the simple compliment was all the encouragement Brianna truly required, lunging forward she clasped her lips over Merrill’s in a warm unison of human and Elven skin. Briannas tongue slipped past her lips towards Merrill’s, only to be slashed aside by Merrill’s agile tongue. The Dalish mage put up a determined resistance to Briannas advance, slashing her tongue back and forth across Brianna’s mouth. The stiff confrontation was sufficient to force Hawke to make a tactical retreat, pulling her lips away from Merrill’s she drew in several much needed breaths while she surveyed the battlefield and recalculated her next course of action.

Brianna stared down at her Elven mage, the small beads of sweat glistening on her brow, the red flare in her cheeks, she looked so beautiful. Brianna kissed Merrill’s lips once more, holding the elf’s cheeks in her hands she pressed forwards her advantage. Brianna’s explorative fingers caressed the soft spot just beneath Merrill’s left ear. The main physiological difference between Human and Elven ears was that Elves had a major blood vessel beneath the skin at the base of their ear; if the vein were severed there loomed a very real threat of death through blood loss if the wound was not treated quickly. The one saving grace of this evolutionary drawback was that Elven ears were especially sensitive to anything caressing the side of their head. It required an immense amount of trust for any Elf to allow anyone else to touch them anywhere near their ear, the honour was given only to those few who both truly understood the gravity of the act and held the true trust of the person themselves. Merrill was special as she had extra sensitive ears even by Elven standards.

Brianna touched the tip of her finger to the base of Merrill’s ear, gently caressing the soft skin beneath her finger tips. However just she dared to creep closer she suddenly felt something stirring within her, something powerful and unnatural but yet in no way harrowing. “Merrill, are you using magic on me again?”

Merrill stared back up at her human companion. “Well I am a mage you know. Not all blood magic is demons and possessions” Merrill caressed her agile hands across Brianna’s flat stomach. “Some of it can be used for more wholesome purposes. You learn how to influence yourself, heal wounds and influence your breathing. And, with enough practice, you may learn to influence others in the same way” Merrill touched her hand to Briannas bare skin. “Like this”

Hawke immediately felt something stirring within her, a cascade of pleasurable tingling washing over her in ever building waves. Brianna could feel the flow of energy moving through her body in tandem with Merrill’s graceful hand movements. As Merrill curled and caressed her finger tips across Hawkes bare stomach Brianna felt as though she could be brought to the very edge of reality merely through Merrill’s magical intervention.

The influence suddenly faltered, Merrill’s hands continuing to move gracefully across Hawkes bare front but the magical power had dissipated. Merrill’s energy finally seeped from her body, the young elf falling limp atop the soft bosom of her human lover. Hawke wrapped her arms around Merrill’s quivering body, the warm embrace a comforting reward for her actions and allowing her the much needed respite to draw the necessary air through her lungs to sustain herself.

Hawke stirred, gently rolling her Elven beauty onto the bed beside her Hawke lifted herself up so she could lay on her side, staring down at her lover and gently trailing the tips of her fingers across Merrill’s stomach. “So maybe now you will explain what that was about”

“Magic… takes a lot… of energy” Merrill panted through shaking lips.

“So now you are completely drained of energy, lying limp and helpless beneath me” as soon as Hawke said it Merrill knew in her heart that she was now at the mercy of whatever devious idea had entered her mind. “It looks like it’s my chance to please you, my Elven Princess”

With all of her vigour sapped from her body Merrill could not raise her arms to intervene as Hawke reached up to slip the grass green scarf from around her neck, whisking it aside like a dancer’s veil. Hawke trailed her hands across Merrill’s flat stomach, the tips of her fingers caressing across the leather belt wrapped around Merrill’s waist. Hawkes agile fingers released the simple clasp with minimal effort, allowing her to slip the belt from around Merrill’s waist and swiftly discarding it aside to join her tights somewhere on the bedroom floor.

Hawke held the sides of Merrill’s grass green top in her hands, slowly drawing the lavishly soft fabric across her skin, exposing another patch of pale white skin as Hawke pulled the material towards the gentle mound of Merrill’s well-formed breasts. The jet black lingerie with fiery red trim which eclipsed her entire torso appeared surprisingly daring for such a seemingly naïve young girl living in a forest clearing, perhaps Merrill had come to the estate with her true intentions already decided. Brianna giggled at the very idea. “And to think you had an innocent face”

Hawke laid her lips upon Merrill’s stomach, tasting the salty sweet flavour of her sweat combined with her silky elven skin, slowly leaving a trail of intimate kisses and licks across her bare stomach as she made her advance upwards. Hawke brought Merrill’s loose top over the gentle mound of Merrill’s ample bust, Hawkes nose buried in the valley of Merrill’s cleavage, scurrying between the soft mounds of flesh to emerge on the other side once again staring into the face of her lover.

Hawkes ravenous libido however could not be sated by mere caresses however, she yearned with body and mind to see her lover stripped of all restraint. Hawkes fingers crept down Merrills sides, following the seam of a delicate undergarment to caress the red bow which encircled her waist. Brianna followed the slip of red material around to the base of Merrill's stomach where the tie which kept it together lingered. Taking a strand of the bow in hand she pulled it away, allowing the material to fall to one side and loosening its hold over the two halves of Merrill’s form fitting underwear. Hawke gently peeled the two halves away from her lovers skin, Merrill’s body quivering at the touch of the cold night air across her bare skin.

Hawke now lay atop her naked companion, feeling the gentle rise and fall of her chest, the quivering of her skin beneath her hands and the frantic beating of her heart within her chest at the mere imagining of the pleasures that were to come.

“You look so beautiful right now” Hawke cooed softly.

“Thank you. And you look really…” Merrill’s mind, overflowing with primal desire, quickly began scrambling for a response. “Tall… and sweaty”

Hawke choose to accept the comment as Merrill’s ongoing attempt to be sweet that she found to be one of the primal magnetisms which defined her attraction to her. Hawke placed her lips to Merrill’s, both as an act to demonstrate her continued love but also as a way of silencing any further attempts at flattery which may cause the very fabric of their shared moment to be torn asunder.

With their lips interlocked and tongues doing a crude impersonation of the Orlesian wolf-step dance in their mouths Brianna chose that moment to dare herself to cross the final boundary which lay between them. Hawkes wandering finger tips slowly began to stalk their way down, slithering between their two bodies to finally come to rest above Merrill’s elven vagina.

Hawke began to explore this new found land with cautious optimism, gently caressing her fingers across the very edge of Merrill’s womanhood and finding it not wholly dissimilar to her own. Hawke hoped that the physiological similarities would continue and that Merrill would react to her touch in the same way Hawke did to her own gentle caresses when she was alone. Hawke dared to venture further, her first adventurous finger delving into the elf’s warm opening. Hawke felt her twitching lips beginning to close tightly around her exploratory appendage, adding resistance to her movements but seeming only to enhance the result by deepening Merrill’s staggered moans of pleasure.

Feeling both adventurous and equally mischievous Hawke decided to introduce a second and third appendage into the equation. However Hawke would soon realize that in having become so consumed with Merrill she had left herself open to retaliation. Hawke realized this only too late as she felt Merrill’s long elegant fingers tickling across the outer lips of her dripping pussy. The tender movements of Hawkes fingers slowly began to form seamlessly into a gentle rhythm, the gentle thrusting of each of their fingers into their partners opening sending a wave of delectable pleasure cascading through their quivering bodies. The movement of their fingers became intertwined on the most primitive levels of their unconscious psyches; it was beginning to become ever more difficult to discern whose fingers were caressing what. It soon became too much for either of them to contain, the young elf experiencing her first orgasm in a flurry of elven obscenities. “ _Kar vin tray ba ni wol!_ ” Merrill moaned, the young girl collapsing down onto the bed with her human lover lying on the soft mattress beside her.

“Merrill” Hawke panted through sweat stained lips. “You know I don’t speak elven”

Hawke had been attempting to learn the complex elven language in her spare time but despite her best efforts most phrases beyond the most basic words remained an elusive mystery to her, but Hawke could discern the underlying sentiment.

“It’s not exactly a well known phrase” Merrill admitted. “But I am sure that you will be hearing it a lot if we spend I bit more ‘intimate time’ together’. Maybe I’ll even tell you what it means, my little dove”

 

*****************************

The Dalish elf and the human mistress of the estate awoke a few hours later, the two figures entangled amongst eachothers arms as well as the bed sheets. The two lovers had begrudgingly chosen to redress into their undergarments both to delay the touch of the night cold against their intimate skin as well as to dampen the effects of the potential embarrassing shock should Hawkes aging mother choose to impede upon her daughters chambers unannounced.

“What happens now?” Merrill dared to meekly break the looming silence. “Are we... what does this mean? Are we...” Merrill stumbled over her words in a desperate bid to convey her meaning.

“You know” Hawke interjected. “We might have to try that a few more times to really get the meaning”

Merrill smiled; with her confidence suddenly building she summoned the courage to blurt out the immortal words of any relationship. “I love you” the realization of what she had said finally dawned upon Merrill. “I probably shouldn’t have said that should I?”

Hawke giggled. “I love you Merrill” Hawke bit her tongue in an effort to summon the necessary courage. “Actually, I was going to suggest you move in with me” Brianna choked the words past her lips with thinly veiled embarrassment, fearing the response.

Merrill rose silently off of the bed, stepping into the centre of the room. “Here...” Merrill turned to face her companion still splayed across the bed. “In Hightown, the rich fancy part of the city with no rats in it? And you, with an Elf?” Merrill pondered the words in the hope that one day they would make some form of sense. “Mar venan, you really are crazy” Merrill steeled herself. “If you are not afraid then neither am I”

Brianna rose off of the bed to stand beside her companion, wrapping her arms around Merrill’s athletic form, placing her lips to the Elf’s pointed ear she whispered.  “Speaking of finding the meaning, shall we try that again until we really find out what it meant?”

Hawke took Merrill’s hands in hers, turning on her heel Brianna led Merrill towards their shared bed.


	2. The Hawke and the Knight Commander

The political stability of the city of Kirkwall had shifted drastically in only a few short years. After the Qunari had launched their attempted uprising to claim the city as their own, and the reigning Viscount had been slain by the Arishoks hand, the Templars were quick to capitalize upon the ensuing power vacuum to instigate their own political agenda within Kirkwall. With Knight Commander Meredith leading the charge the Templars knights began a systematic purge to expose any unsanctioned magic user within the city.

While the majority of the cities citizens were content to allow the Templars to establish political dominance over Kirkwall, seeing the stability they brought combined with their on-going mission to root out all dangerous Mages as a positive development after enduring such a long period of instability and fear. The apostate community on the other hand, composed of those Magi not sanctioned by the Circle, their families and those within the Templar ranks who shared their cause, were forced underground and quickly turned to a strategy of guerrilla warfare and other tactics in an effort to break the Templars iron hold over the city. But as the years passed the Templars hold over the city only tightened and the Mages became ever more desperate, some even daring to turn to the dark arts they so despised, seeing such abilities as their only defence against Templar oppression. In turn this only served to confirm Meredith’s suspicions, giving the Templars ample justification to tighten their hold over the struggling Mages ever more.

With each side caught within an unbreakable stalemate they each sought the Champions support for their cause. While the Champion believed that order must be maintained if the city were to survive, the lengths at which the Templars were willing to go in search of ‘Blood Mages’ led her to suspect the Knight Commanders true motives. However the revelation that so many Mages had chosen to betray their principals to utilize the forbidden art, however well their intentions, showed a clear taint within the faction which would have to be removed if claims of their innocence were to be heeded. Surely it would not be long before the Champion was once again forced to stand before the people and decide the fate of the city of Kirkwall.

 

*************************

“ _How had it all come to this?_ ” it was a question which Hawke found herself asking ever more frequently as the weeks passed. Sitting at her desk in the master bedroom of the Hawke estate nestled into the bosom of Kirkwall’s Hightown district, writing another letter to her sister Bethany who had been drafted into the Circle of Magi several years before. It pained her to write these letters each week, knowing that any personal developments and topics of news would first be pawed over by an agent of the Templars searching for any code or sign of insurrection before the letter entered her sisters’ hand. But still she continued writing each week, the few heavily self-censored replies which trickled back weighing heavily upon her heart because she knew that she had been the one to put her sister in that position. If she had only been quicker to return from the expedition, if she had taken Bethany with her into the Deep Roads, if she had never gone on the blasted trip in the first place all this could-

“Mistress?” a voice withdrew Brianna from her internal interrogation. Glancing up from her half written letter she found her Elven attendant Orana standing at the door to her chambers, quietly waiting in silence to be acknowledged.

“Yes…” Hawke said hoarsely, clearing her throat she tried again. “Yes Orana, what is it?”

“I’m sorry to disturb you, mistress” Orana continued. “You have a visitor”

 

*************************

Brianna stepped out onto the balcony overlooking the living room of her estate. In the main room beneath, basking in the warm glow of the fireplace stood the defacto ruler of Kirkwall and commanding officer of the Templar Order regulating the city, Knight Commander Meredith. Hawke steeled herself for the coming exchange, although she had met with the Knight Commander on many previous occasions the current political situation within the city demanded absolute neutrality from their Champion lest her mere endorsement of either faction be sufficient to tip the scales of power and lead to the outbreak of open conflict. The fact that the Knight Commander had chosen to visit her estate personally did not help to reconcile her anxiety.

“Knight Commander Meredith” Brianna stepped down the stairs into the main hall to greet her visitor. “I am surprised to see you anywhere without an escort of Templar Knights”

Meredith turned to face the lady of the estate. “I know how to handle myself, Champion. I am here because I have business I wish to discuss with you” Meredith glanced at Orana, watching the young elf serving girl standing meekly beside her mistress, contempt burning in her eyes for the Elven servant. “May we speak with, in private?” Meredith requested.

“Of course” she replied. “Please, follow me”

Brianna Hawke lead the Templar leader into her private chambers at the rear of the Hawke Estate, closing the door silently behind her. Commander Meredith spoke first. “As you know, Hawke, Kirkwall finds itself at a critical juncture. You know of the threat the Mages pose to the order of the city; I believe you have experience with them…” Meredith noticed the robe, Merrill’s Dalish garments, hanging from the dresser on the far side of the room. “Personally” Meredith turned back to face Hawke with renewed focus. “You are becoming an influential figure in Kirkwall. You are a true hero of the people, a Ferelden woman no less, who defended the city from the Qunari uprising, the woman who climbed from obscurity to save an entire city. Someone like that could be a great ally to the Templar Order”

“Or an enemy” Hawke knew that conducting business with the Knight Commander was much like lending the hen house keys to the Coyote, it could only end in a bloody mess.

“I see that your companion is not here” Meredith swiftly changed the subject, a disturbing shift of tone from city politics to personal small talk.

“Merrill spends a lot of time in the Alienage these days” Hawke replied. “She enjoys the company of her own kind”

“You know, Hawke” Meredith continued. “There are many among Hightown society who would not look favourably upon living alongside an elf, let alone humans consorting with Elven blood mages. I am afraid it will not do well for your reputation amongst society’s betters”

“I was never one for social gatherings anyway” Hawke smiled.

“I have received reports from the city guard regarding severe complaints made against your Elven companion” once again the Knight Commander proved herself capable of shifting topic at a moment’s notice without warning. “Charges accused of her include attempting unauthorized entry into the Viscounts bath chamber and the Chantry airing cupboard. Accusations that she was observed picking flowers from noblemen’s gardens and taunting their Mabari guard dogs have also been reported”

“Merrill is quite the free spirit” Hawke giggled. “She can be difficult to influence sometimes”

“A lioness should not comfort and protect a wounded Impala, she should slit its throat with her claws and devour it at her leisure” Meredith’s colourful metaphor did little to settle Hawkes wavering belief in the sincerity of her words. “Your sister is an apostate already brought within the protection of the Circle, you know what the Templar Order demands of any unsanctioned Mage” the memory of the day Bethany was taken to the Circle remained freshly scarred in her mind, the fact that Meredith was willing to resurface that traumatic memory in an effort to influence her demonstrated the Knight Commanders ruthless determination in search of her objective. “I doubt that the Order will be so lenient towards an elven Blood Mage, without your support there is little I can do to dissuade the Order” the clear undercurrent of a threat did little to dissuade Hawke from her response.

“To think I believed that you ARE the Templar Order” Hawke responded boldly.

“I am the right hand of the Chantry. I merely carry out the Makers will, and I pray that you too shall see the truth in his words” Meredith carried that strange mixture of unshakable confidence accompanied by a thin underlying touch of sincerity that she could almost convince you that she truly believed her own bullshit. “However it is clear that you need time to come to your decision. I shall leave you in peace, I believe you know where you may find me if you wish to discuss the matter further. Farewell Serah Hawke” Meredith turned on her heel as though that truly were to be the end of the exchange. “You must be sure to keep a watchful eye over your companion if she insists on visiting the Alienage” Hawkes entire body stiffened in response at the words. “The alleyways of Lowtown between Hightown and the Elven quarter have proven themselves dangerous in the past, especially to the young women of the city. Even the Chantry itself has proven vulnerable to the dark ravages-”

Hawke reacted purely on instinct, reaching out she clasped her hand around Meredith’s forearm, stopping her in her step. “If I assist the Templar Order in apprehending genuine blood mages” Brianna clearly emphasised the term ‘genuine’, knowing full well that any magic user could be considered to be conspiring with demonic powers by Templar standards. “Then you will personally ensure that my sister Bethany, Merrill and any other of my companions will come to no harm?”

Meredith turned to face Brianna, a sinister smile creasing across her lips. “You have my word, Champion of Kirkwall”


	3. The Hawke and the Mages

That was how it had come to pass. The Champion of Kirkwall being drafted as the personal lapdog of the Templar Knight Commander Meredith, tasked with apprehending three dangerous ‘Blood Mages’ who had escaped the custody of the Chantry and even now continued to elude pursuit by their Templar handlers. So far the investigation had yielded mixed results, the first target being a true Elven blood mage who had sacrificed the life of his own wife in a final desperate bid to escape recapture. The second target on the other hand had emerged to be an Orlesian man-child who had fled the Circle with the sole intention of bedding a bar wench and had spent the entirety of the time since his escape drinking and attempting to impress women by intentionally marking himself as a dangerous apostate. Now Hawke and her party were hot on the trail of the final fugitive, the mother of two adoptive sons who also carried a dark essence within her.

After a lengthy investigation Hawke and her companions had tracked the final apostate to the intricate network of sewer tunnels snaking beneath Darktown. Once more Hawke found herself entering into the bowels of hell and so she had endeavoured to bring the people she trusted most at her side when she plunged herself headfirst into the darkness lying beneath the city. That was why when she entered the dark network of sewer tunnels beneath Darktown Aveline, Varric and Merrill followed her close behind. Having navigated their way through the intricate network of tunnels honeycombing the city slums they finally drew close to their objective.

“Is it just me” Merrill asked, her eyes quizzically scanning her surroundings as she walked in the centre of the pack. “Or do all of these tunnels look like the ones we have been through before?”

“It’s the colour scheme, Daisy” Varric hefted his crossbow, Bianca, in his thick hands as he brought up the rear-guard, providing long range support to the two warriors leading the group and keeping their elven mage guarded from all angles. “It’s the same shade of brown and grey they use in all the tunnels, makes whoever lives down here feel like home wherever they are”

“Mostly bandits, smugglers, slavers and the like” Aveline lead the group alongside Hawke, hefting her sword and shield ready to face whatever dared emerge to face them while Hawke hefted her heavy Greatsword with the practiced ease as one would carry a loaf back from market. “They use these tunnels like their own personal passageways anywhere in the lower reaches of the city and beyond. If I had the manpower I would have cleared out them out long ago, swept the bandits and evils of this city back into the void they spawned themselves from”

“Shhh” Hawke whispered, silencing her companions and opening her ears to the world around them. “I hear something” Hawke pointed ahead of her, cautiously leading her team out into the next dark chamber.

 

************************

When they finally encountered the final apostate it became clear that she could not be dissuaded from her destructive path. Seeing enemies even in the children she had once spared from the streets there was only one way that she could see forwards, she had to fight at any cost.

Hawke and Aveline charged ahead to meet demonic claw with polished steel. With their brave knights keeping the corrupted entity at bay Varric and Merrill fought from range, firing a barrage of arrows and magic fireballs towards the creature. Aveline deflected a left strike with the face of her shield only to suffer the full brunt of a surprise right hook as she attempted to capitalise upon the opening and plunge the sword into the creatures’ chest. Aveline’s sacrifice left the monster exposed to the full bite of Hawke’s Greatsword as the blade came down with sufficient force to slice through the demons tough skin with little resistance. The beast let out an agonised howl as the blade buried itself deep in its flesh only to have the pain increase tenfold as the sword was swiftly, and violently, torn from its body, the sheer overwhelming force of the pain throwing the creature to its knees at Hawke’s feet. Hawke stepped back as she saw her Elven mage preparing a grand Firestorm, the small flickers of embers dancing between her fingers. Merrill suddenly thrust her arms out straight, the tiny flashes suddenly ballooning outwards into a column of flame which enveloped the demon standing before her. The creature fell to the ground in a burning chaos of thrashing limbs and melting skin as it attempted to smother the fires which consumed it.

The fires eventually starved themselves of their own accord, with no magical influence to sustain them they soon flickered from existence, the charred remnants of an ashen corpse crumpled on the floor. Hawke dared to take several cautious steps towards the remains, as she drew closer a gentle breeze emerged to carry away much of the discarded ash and reveal what truly lay beneath the dust. The body of a woman, untouched by the flames and swords which had killed the demon, suddenly stirred to life before their eyes, it seemed they had shattered the magical influence which surrounded her. Hawke kneeled over her and saw the frantic fear prevalent in her eyes for herself. “What, where am I?” Evelina stared up at her as though she had just been returned to the physical world, as if she truly held no memory of the monster she had become. “Who are you?”

Hawke parted her lips to give her answer but her voice was swiftly stifled by the sound of another. “Nobody move!”

Everyone turned instinctively at the sound of the voice to see a full squad of over half a dozen Templar Knights emerging from the shadows of the surrounding tunnels, their weapons drawn but not raised in anticipation of battle. Varric and Merrill held their respective weapons ready, but the Templars simply passed them without acknowledgement. The one Hawke anticipated being their leader approached, Hawke rose to greet him.

“Thank you Serah Hawke” the Templar leader motioned his men forward. “We will take it from here”

On his command two of the Templars stepped forward, kneeling next to Evelina they began checking her for signs of life. When the Templar was satisfied that the quarry yet lived a second knight stepped forward and produced ties of rope from their pack. The knight began binding the woman’s feet and wrists, as if she were in any fit state to resist otherwise.

“What’s going on Templar?” Aveline stepped forward to address the Templar leader.

“Templar business, I am afraid I cannot say” the Knight refused to turn and acknowledge her beyond the offhanded comment, instead continuing to oversee the work of the Templars binding their prisoner.

“What do you mean ‘cannot say’?” Aveline snapped in response.

“Direct orders from Knight Commander Meredith” the Templar gave the name as if he hoped the mere mention of the name would cause his opponent to reconsider their position, however Aveline refused to falter.

“I couldn’t give a Mabaris backside who your orders came from” Aveline interjected. “I am Kirkwall’s Captain of the City Guard-”

“To which the Templar Order does not answer to any more than the Courtesans Guild, Guard Captain” the Templar was clearly at the end of his patience. “Now stand down”

“Templar” Hawke stepped between them, hoping to end the conflict before it could escalate into something greater. “You may not be aware that I report to Knight Commander Meredith directly, and I am under orders to deal with this Mage as I see fit”

“I was not made aware of this, Serah” the Templar admitted, but did not falter in his position. “I was tasked to ensure that the escaped apostate ‘Evelina’ was captured in a living but otherwise unspecified condition. I am afraid that I am carrying out my orders as they are given, Serah. If you wish you may discuss it with the Knight Commander yourself”

“Rest assured Templar” Brianna replied. “I will”

 

***************************

Hawke placed the finishing touches on another letter to her sister Bethany, laying it down at the corner of her desk with the rest to be delivered with tomorrows morning post. With her letter writing complete she had a free moment to attempt to decipher some sense from what had transpired in the tunnels, she had until tomorrow morning to make sense of it before she addressed the Knight Commander.

 ‘ _Why would Meredith dispatch another Templar unit after she had already been tasked to track the apostate? Why would the leader of the Templar order be concerned whether a single apostate lived or died?_ ’ Brianna knew she would have to bring the topic up with the Knight Commander during their next-

“Mistress?” the voice of Orana, Hawkes Elven attendant roused her from her silent contemplation.

Hawke looked up to face her. “Yes, Orana?”

“You have received a letter” Orana held out a letter between her outstretched hands for her mistress to accept.

Hawke accepted the offering. “Thank you Orana”

“It is my pleasure mistress” Orana bowed respectfully, silently leaving her mistress to read her letter in private. Hawke unfurled the paper in her hands to read it.

 

_Hawke,_

_I wish to discuss a matter of great importance with you. Come to my estate in Hightown tonight so that we may speak in private._

_Signed_

_Knight Commander Meredith_

 

Hawke reread the short note several times before finally placing the letter down onto the desk beside her. She knew that such vague summons from the Knight Commander could not be a good omen; however it seemed that once more she held little choice in the matter.

 

***************************

Hawke secured the belt of her light leather armour around her waist, the light attire sufficiently flexible so as not to impede agility while the layered sheets of steel plate laced into the fabric offered protection against all but the most determined attackers. Hawke secured her short blade and her coin purse at her belt, while she usually found the bulk and weight of her armour and her Greatsword a lingering comfort it could not be considered the proper dress for a private meeting with the cities leader. Hawke continued her routine, checking the straps and buckles of her armour before-

Hawke suddenly felt a weight falling upon her shoulders, the soft breeze of light breaths wafting past her right ear. Hawke hadn’t even heard her approach; she could be unsettlingly quiet when she wished to be. “You’re leaving again aren’t you?” Merrill’s long arms wrapped loosely around her partners’ waist, her fingers interlocking at the base of her stomach.

Hawke placed her hands over Merrill’s, hoping to offer some small comfort to her troubled lover. “It’s just a meeting with the Knight Commander”

“Oh, you mean the lady with the big sword who shouts a lot” once again Merrill succeeded in offering a rather simple and yet accurate summary of another individual, and it quickly brought a smile to Hawke’s lips.

“Yes, that’s her” she giggled. “I’m afraid I have to go”

“Aww, but I wanted you to stay here with me. I was thinking we could go into our room” Merrill allowed a soft giggle escape her lips. “I just love calling it that, OUR room. Yes, I was thinking you could take me into OUR room and you could completely ravage me, my little dove” Merrill ensured to include her affectionate pet name with her request.

“I won’t be gone long” Hawke turned to face her elven lover, Merrill’s arms remaining wrapped loosely around her waist. “I shall return to you safely having met with the Knight Commander and by sunrise I shall have ravaged you to your heart’s desire. I promise” Hawke planted a single farewell kiss on her lover’s lips and departed towards the door without another word.

Merrill lingered in hushed silence. “Don’t make an elf a promise” Merrill spoke beneath her breath, watching as Hawke closed the door behind her. “If you know you can’t keep it”

 

***************************

Hawke finally arrived at the step of the Knight Commanders residence deep within the heart of Hightown. From the outside the structure blended seamlessly with the rest of Hightown elite, it was only when she ventured inside that Brianna felt like she had drifted into another world entirely. Where most nobles had fine arts and family portraits decorating their interior these walls were adorned with a variety of weapons, animal trophies and maps of the city and the terrain surrounding it. She almost did not hear when a voice called her name.

“Serah Hawke” Brianna turned to be greeted by Knight Commander Meredith’s tranquil assistant Elsa. “It is good that you appear well” Elsa indicated one of the doors leading off from the main entrance hall. “Knight Commander Meredith will see you now”

Elsa lead Hawke through the vast network of corridors throughout the interior of the Knight Commanders home, leading her into the library of the estate. The walls were stacked high with shelves upon shelves of books on every subject imaginable rising up to caress the ceiling. On the far side of the room sat a roaring fire enshrined within a decorative fireplace flanked on either side by high wing-backed chairs separated by a low serving table. The chair to right hand side was already occupied by the Knight Commander herself.

“Please” Meredith looked up to greet her guest; she offered the seat across from her with a wave of her hand. “Sit down”

Hawke accepted the offered seat, sitting across the table from the Knight Commander. Meredith had chosen to dress in the same loose fitting Chantry robes as her assistant Elsa. Meredith’s long hair was allowed to flow down her back to pool in the hood of her robes, her fringe contained by a shimmering golden hair band.

“I wished to thank you personally for dealing with the fugitives” Meredith smiled, dispensing with any anticipated pleasantries and turning swiftly to the matter of business. “The city may rest safely knowing that three such dangerous abominations either lay dead or are once again beneath the watchful eye of the Chantry” Elsa suddenly emerged between them, carrying a tray of drinks held between her hands. Hawke was slightly unnerved that she had allowed herself to be ambushed for a second time tonight. Meredith accepted the offering. “You already know my assistant Elsa” Elsa offered the drink to Hawke, although she rarely drank Hawke accepted the offering, though she never lost sight of the fact that dealing with the Knight Commander would require a clear and level head. Meredith tasted the bright red drink, seeming satisfied with its taste and texture. “Elsa, I think a celebration is in order. Go and prepare yourself, Serah Hawke will be joining us tonight”

“As you wish Mistress” Elsa gave her a gentle bow before she departed, having interpreted whatever true meaning lay beneath the rather vague request.

“Knight Commander Meredith” Hawke was eager to return the topic to business before she found herself consumed by more of the Knight Commanders ‘hospitality’. “There is something I must ask-”

“Please, Hawke” Meredith said. “There is no need for such formalities; here we are merely Meredith and Brianna”

“Meredith” Brianna forced the name past her lips, the word tasting bitter in her mouth. “After pursuing the latest fugitive into the tunnels beneath Darktown I had her disarmed and yielding-”

“I would expect nothing less of your abilities” Meredith complimented. “I anticipate a swift and final strike would have likely followed?”

“I was then ambushed by Templars who took her into custody” Hawke was careful in her phrasing of her next statement. “They claimed to be under your direct orders to capture Evelina alive”

Meredith idly caressed the tip of her finger across the rim of the wineglass, pondering Hawkes words, clearly attempting to feign ignorance as to the true fate of the fugitive. “I am afraid that was my fault for neglecting to dispatch a messenger. I did not wish to interfere in your pursuit of the fugitives but I had something of a revelation that I could ill afford not to act upon”

Hawke sipped her drink, tasting some of the finest wine usually reserved for nobles of the city, though she would have to keep her wits about her if she were to deal with Meredith. “Be that as it may I would have appreciated it if you had informed me of your sudden ‘revelation’” the way she had said it lead Hawke to wonder just how sudden this revelation had truly been. “My companions were none too happy to be taken by surprise in such a manner”

“We are powerful women, Brianna” Meredith leant forward to emphasise her point. “We must support each other in everything we do” Meredith searched for power and strength in every aspect of her life. In a moment of perverse weakness Meredith had nearly succumbed to the tainted yearning to capture one of the Qunari for her own personal designs, despite their crude brutality the creatures were indeed excellent physical specimens by the standards of any species. “I have spent my political career in search of influence and power, now that I have such influence I feel it is mine to wield as I see fit”

“And yet you still have not answered my question as to why you suddenly took such a keen interest in this particular mage” Hawke attempted to steer the woman towards a straight answer.

Meredith took another sip of her drink. “I determined that whilst all unsanctioned mages within the city must be cleansed in the name of the Maker this particular apostate could yet serve a greater purpose to the city as a whole”

“And that purpose would be?” Brianna asked, hoping that she finally found herself on the brink of an answer.

“Ah, Elsa has returned” Meredith welcomed her assistant with a raised hand, once again discarding the question entirely. Elsa stepped forward, standing between them demurely, something had changed in her face. Though the tranquil serenity remained there was something lying deeper within her. “Have you prepared yourself?”

“Yes mistress” Elsa replied.

Meredith nodded with acknowledgement. “You may begin Elsa”

“As you wish Mistress” Elsa’s hands reached up to release the clasp of her Chantry robes, unfurling the loose clothing across her lithe frame to pool at her feet. Discarding her Chantry robes revealed the fine lace bodice she wore beneath, the delicate garment the spitting image of those seen adorning only the finest fashion boutiques of Hightown. The delicate black material formed seamlessly around her well formed torso appearing to have been tailored specifically to her elegant figure, leaving both of her voluptuous breasts and her tight pussy exposed.

Hawke was taken aback by the sudden revelation, she nearly leapt from her seat as she would if a Rage Demon had spawned into the room, instead her hands merely tightened around the arms of the chair. “What is this?” were the only words which escaped her lips.

“It is merely a way for us to relax, Brianna” Meredith attempted in vain to settle her fears. “To bask in the glow of another victory won in the defence of the city. You really must try her, Brianna” Meredith reached her free hand over to run the tips of her fingers across Elsa’s exposed arm. “She truly is an angel among mere mortals; her skin is velvet soft and her opening remains virgin tight. I should know, I sample most of her pleasures as often as my tiring duties permit. Sometimes she may even spontaneously crawl beneath my desk and chose to pleasure me whilst I conduct my business, isn’t that correct Elsa?”

The young girl’s eyes remained vacantly cold. “Yes mistress, I do enjoy pleasuring you in the most lewd of ways” she replied flatly.

“So” Meredith smiled devilishly. “Why not show her what I mean Elsa?”

Elsa nodded submissively. “As you wish, Mistress”

Elsa seemed to move as though she glided effortlessly across the carpeted floor, her form completely bewitching to the point where Hawke did not notice her presence until she felt hands softly caressing her shoulders. The woman’s elegant fingers moved seamlessly across the smooth leather shoulder guards of Brianna’s armour, the gentle caresses feeling as though the fabric were non-existent. Hawke felt the elegant fingers drifting further down her front, trailing soft lines across the elegant curves of her breastplate.

Hawke dared to protest. “Wait I-”

“Please my lady” Elsa’s creamy smooth voice was almost mystical. “I exist only to serve” Hawke felt like she could do naught to resist her advances.

“You see” Meredith’s voice seemed to carry like a soft breeze across the room. “While her mind may be cursed her body is the finest gift of the Maker”

Elsa’s agile fingers effortlessly released the clasps of Hawkes armour, allowing the smooth leather to slip from her shoulders, revealing the simple black bra beneath. The newly unveiled skin brought a delectable smile to Meredith’s lips. “You truly are a fine athletic specimen of humanity” Meredith inhaled another snifter of wine. “Now that you are a little more, comfortable, I hope you won’t mind if I partake of some of Elsa’s more intimate talents first”

Elsa removed her hands from Hawkes shoulders, allowing the woman to slowly drift back into reality. “As you wish Mistress” Elsa slipped around Hawkes chair to stand before her mistress in looming silence. Meredith spread her legs in anticipation, her attendant fell to her knees before her mistress. Meredith parted her Chantry robes, allowing Hawke a glimpse of creamy white skin beneath, indicating that the ‘chased’ Knight Commander wore nothing underneath. Elsa buried herself between her masters’ thighs with the same animal enthusiasm Hawke had seen of her faithful Mabari Shadow as he plunged his stunted snout into yet another wild rabbit hole. Elsa’s lips pressed against Meredith’s slit, sending shivers cascading down her spine. Meredith held Elsa’s head with her left hand, her fingers entangled in the young girls golden hair as she inhaled another sip of wine from her right. “This is one of the few true pleasures left in this world, a fine wine and a youthful tongue” Meredith appeared to be within the throes of ecstasy, the two earthly pleasures of desire and alcohol clearly having a marked effect on the woman. “That’s enough” Meredith forced the command past lips quivering through a combination of elation induced incomprehensibility and a mouth full of fine Orlesian red.

However Elsa did as her mistress commanded, kneeling submissively before her, her lips still wet with her mistresses desire.

“Very well done my pet” Meredith ruffled the girls’ hair as you would a Mabari pup that had learned to roll over. “Now I believe Mistress Hawke would enjoy sampling a taste of your abilities”

Hawke had to object. “But, I am wed to Merrill”

The remark brought a keen smile to Meredith’s lips as though the very thought of such a union was the universes eternal joke. “You truly consider an elven blood mage a worthy mate for someone of your stature?”

“We’re in love” Hawke asserted, as though saying it aloud were the key to its defence against those who questioned it. “It would not be right”

“Brianna, this is nothing to do with being right. This is simply a matter of pleasure” Meredith acknowledged her assistant with a wave of her hand. “Elsa, demonstrate what I mean”

“Yes Mistress” Elsa stepped forward, falling to her knees before Hawke, once more prepared to do her duty with quiet efficiency and fortitude. Elsa held the tie of Hawkes belt, releasing the intricate restraints with a single agile flick of her wrist. Hooking her fingers beneath the lip of Hawkes thick leather trousers Elsa began to remove the redundant article of attire until she felt a hand clasp tightly around her wrist. “No, wait-”

“Shoosh” Elsa stared up at Hawke, her eyes big and round, in a vain attempt to calm her. “Calm, I only wish to make you feel good, my little dove”

The name stunned Hawke for the shortest of moments. ‘ _How did she know that name?_ ’ by the time Hawke’s had mind had returned to the physical realm she found that Elsa had already managed to pull her trousers and undergarments around her ankles and had her lips buried between her thighs. Now Hawke could feel her body growing weak and her mind beginning to drift.

“She is good is she not?” Meredith asked. Hawke could only allow a soft moan to escape her lips. Meredith idly caressed herself, her agile fingers having enjoyed her many years of maturity to seek out her abundance of sweet spots.

Elsa massaged Hawkes thighs while she licked and fingered her Champion, the pleasure of the act seeming to spread and intensify the feeling across her entire lower body. Hawke began to wonder whether some lingering magical essence had survived the rite of tranquillity. However no matter how much she despised herself for enjoying the act the simple fact remained that whatever Elsa was doing was swiftly driving her towards her inevitable climax.

“Enough” at Meredith’s command Elsa knelt back, resting her buttocks on the heel of her feet, she sat before Brianna, her hands clasped across her lap as she stared into Hawkes quivering eyes, sweat cascading down her brow. Hawke slumped unceremoniously into her seat, clasping the chairs arms for support in a desperate effort to maintain her composure. “I believe it is time that we continued onto the celebration”

Elsa rose to her feet and bowed respectfully to her master. “As you wish mistress” and silently departed the room once again.

“That...” Hawke panted in gasps of air in a desperate attempt to regain her composure. “That wasn’t the celebration?”

“Of course not” Meredith admitted. “That was merely a taste intended to whet your appetite” a devilish smile formed upon Meredith’s lips. “The true pleasure is only now about to begin”

As if on some unspoken command Elsa suddenly re-emerged into the room, remaining in her undressed state and bearing a tray held between her hands covered by a thick black cloth. Hawke looked past Elsa to see another figure lingering in the shadows, emerging from the darkness Hawke could make out the long brown locks the fugitive mage Evelina. Though she was dressed in the same worn clothing she been wearing at the time of her capture she had been allowed some basic cleansing before she had been brought before the Knight Commander. Evelina stepped forward and fell to her knees before the Knight Commander, despite her submission her eyes appeared to glow with the same fiery defiance and determination Hawke had seen her draw upon in battle, she had not been made tranquil.

“Is she willing?” Meredith asked coldly.

“Yes mistress” Elsa stepped forward to place the cloth covered tray on the table between them. “And I have brought all that you requested” Elsa gently pulled back the cover over the tray to reveal several items crafted from soft leather, fine smooth wood or even polished silver. Hawke recognised each of them as something she would have expected to find in the room of a fine Courtesan or even concealed beneath the beds of perturbed Hightown noble women whose husbands had yet to discover their most sensitive spots.

Meredith leant forward, pondering the tray that had been laid before her. “Which one shall we use first?” Meredith asked the question to no one in particular. “Hawke” Meredith looked to her companion. “Would you like to do the honours and be the first to deflower her?”

Hawke stared at the items before her, wondering whether she really could bring herself to use this on someone who earlier today had been throwing fireballs at her and her companions.

“Though perhaps...” Meredith leant forward, running her fingers across the smooth surface of the leather dildo. “I should save this particular plaything for another, an elven blood mage perhaps?”

Hawke could sense the sinister intent beneath the thinly veiled threat; she knew what she had to do. Hawke reluctantly accepted the tainted offering with a quivering hand. Brianna rose from her seat and stood before her prisoner, the woman stared up at Hawke with fire burning in her eyes. _‘I’m sorry’_ Hawke mouthed the words beneath her breath, pressing the toy to Evelinas mouth she attempted to force the item past her closed lips. But Evelina refused, her lips remaining tightly closed.

“I knew you were just like her” Evelina indicated Meredith with a nod of her head. “Templar oppressor” the bold statement only brought a chuckling smile to Meredith’s lips. Hawke forced the unwanted intruder past Evelinas lips, her defences faltering as the shaft of the dildo entered her unaccommodating mouth.

“Excellent Hawke” Meredith interjected, sitting in her chair, her fingers idly caressing across her slit. Having been with her for the entirety of her sexual maturity Meredith’s fingers knew exactly how to reach every one of her sensitive spots. “Though I suspect that we could put her mouth to better use”

Meredith rose from her seat, her flowing robes cascading over her body like a river of fabric to pool at her feet. The removal of the robes revealed that instead of wearing little beneath her robe the Knight Commander was in fact entirely naked beneath. Hawke stepped aside as the Knight Commander approached to stand before her captive kneeling at her feet. Meredith placed her slit to Evelinas mouth, anticipating the younger woman to wilfully submit to the unspoken demand, Evelina however remained firmly defiant. Meredith responded by clutching the back of Evelinas head and smothering the young mage between her creamy thighs. Evelina lashed out in a daring act of defiance, forcing her mouth forward and clamping her teeth around the softest part of the Knight Commanders anatomy she could sink her teeth into.

Meredith smacked the open palm of her hand across Evelinas cheek, breaking the contact and throwing the young girl harshly to the floor in a painful heap. Elsa remained unphased by the sudden act of violence whilst Hawke fought to suppress the compulsion to intervene and defend a victim who could not defend herself. ‘ _Think of Merrill_ ’ she repeated to herself, a desperate effort to maintain her composure.

Meredith stood over her pet, ready to deliver another blow against the one who had dared to defy her. However something stayed her hand, a devious thought entered her mind, a sinister smile forming across her lips. Softening her hand Meredith pointed towards the tray on the table. “Elsa, get me that one”

“As you wish mistress” Elsa stepped over to retrieve the requested item. Kneeling at her mistresses’ feet, assisting her as Meredith stepped into the leather straps, Elsa drawing them up her sculpted legs to secure the strap-on around Meredith’s waist. Meredith passed the tip of her fingers along the length of the smooth wooden surface of the long toy, a good seven inches at least.

Meredith glanced at Elsa. “Prepare her” Meredith said sternly.

“As you wish Mistress” Elsa stepped forward to stand over Evelina, grabbing her beneath her arms she roughly dragged the mage to her feet and pulled her across the room, unceremoniously throwing her down onto the table with little care or consideration in her actions. Elsa stepped in front of Evelina, her bare buttocks presented to the heat of the flames still burning wildly in the fireplace, offering a sinister vision to Hawke still silently watching the as events unfolded from the shadows. Elsa pressed Evelina down onto the table, reaching across her back she grabbed a handful of Evelinas skirt and pulled it up, exposing her well rounded buttocks and quivering slit to Meredith’s hawk like gaze.

Meredith stepped forward, her hips swaying in a seductive manner as she approached, touching the very tip of the dildo to Evelinas wet slit, feeling the tremors of fear resonating through the inanimate object to transfer to Meredith’s own vagina. “This is to send a message to the Mages of Kirkwall” Meredith pressed the tip against her outer folds. “So they may know who controls the city” the façade had been shattered, now Hawke was finally allowed a glimpse at the true face of the Templars master. “And with it their lives” Meredith thrust her hips forward with as much strength as she could muster, the extension of her body scything through whatever obstructions and resistances it met to penetrate deeply into Evelinas unprepared snatch. Meredith drew back only to quickly plunge back in at an even greater pace, gaining less than a few millimetres of penetration. “She really is tight as a drum” Meredith growled, focusing all of her energy on her vain attempts to drive herself up to the hilt into the girl.

“Elsa” Meredith called for her attendant, grabbing at Evelinas shoulders, her sides, anything she could grasp to gain some additional leverage. “Do what you can to make our guest a touch more ‘yielding’”

“Of course Mistress” Elsa reached forward to clasp the seams of Evelinas shirt in her hands, gently drawing the two sides apart Evelina shivered as the cool night air cascaded across her bare front. Elsa clasped her fingers around Evelinas engorged nipples, sending waves of unwilling pleasure cascading through her body, her lips moaning with unwanted pleasure.

Elsa pressed the lips of her slit against Evelinas gapping mouth, with a sex toy buried deeply inside of her dripping pussy lips Evelina could do little to resist the forceful nature of Elsa’s forceful advances. Through sheer exhaustion Evelina felt her body submit to her desires, her tongue slashing vaguely across Elsa’s lips in a half hearted attempt to pleasure her. “It seems the witch has some talent licking cunt” Meredith remarked with a snide smile, the devious pleasure of the revelation spurring her to more ferocious acts of pleasure.

Hawke watched the display unfolding before her with forced interest, if only so as to avoid arousing the suspicions of the Knight Commander still continuing to watch her like an eagle eyed its prey. However as the act drew onwards, and Meredith’s roughness and desires only grew, Hawke could feel something rumbling within her. Hawke could sense a warm feeling rising up from her stomach to burn inside of her chest, unconsciously she could feel her hand trailing down her stomach to tease her outer lips.

“Enjoying yourself, Hawke?” Meredith’s voice shattered her fragile trance. Hawkes cheeks instinctively flushed with the same red hue as if her mother had caught her idly trailing in the middle of her chores to watch the local boy’s military training across the field. “You can join in you know” Hawke was stunned at the bold offering.

While Hawkes frenzied mind attempted to draw some form of response together Meredith withdrew herself from Evelina, the discarded and exhausted woman allowed to collapse down onto the table, lacking the energy necessary to support her. Meredith released the clasps which secured the strap-on firmly around her waist, holding the toy loosely in her free hand.

Before Hawke could realize it Meredith was already lingering in her shadow she suddenly wrapped the stained toy around Hawkes waist and began retightening the straps to secure it in place. “Wait, I shouldn’t-” Hawke began to protest, only to find her mind would not carry her words past her lips.

“Shhh” Meredith’s soft breath carried in waves past her ear, Hawke felt the warmth of her body pressed against her back. “It’s ok” Meredith secured the final strap, the smooth leather fitting snugly around Hawkes waist as though it had been created with her mind. “Here” Meredith placed her hands to Hawkes hips, slowly guiding her forwards with Brianna seemingly lacking the will to resist. “She’s nicely warmed up for you”

The very tip of Hawkes faux penis touched against Evelinas outer lips, sending a cold shiver cascading down her spine. Hawke thrust her hips forwards, her fake member driving deeply into Evelinas dripping pussy, Hawke feeling her lips resisting her advance only to begin to yield as Hawke delivered another valiant blow.

“Good” Meredith purred beneath her breath, controlling her thrusts with her hands clasped tightly across Brianna’s thighs, gently guiding Briannas rhythmic thrusts Brianna could feel the echo of her impacts resonating through her entire body. Meredith’s hands firmly slowed Briannas advance to a calm rumble. “Now” Meredith pulled Hawkes thighs back, Briannas strap on penis slipping free with a wet pop. “Why don’t you try the one just a bit higher up?”

Evelina, once a shrinking violet, suddenly reawakened with a violent stir. “What, no!” Evelina fought with a new burning fire in her heart, resisting Hawkes attempts with whatever little energy remained within her. Seeing the rebellion Elsa held her down by her shoulders to keep her pinned to the table, silencing the protest before it could grow.

“Oh how I love mages, so ageless and superior” Meredith guided Hawke to touch the very tip of her false dildo to Evelinas puckered ass cheeks. “Then you stick them in the ass and they squeal like a trapped Mabari” Hawke felt herself being pushed forward, her fake penis pressing deeply into Evelinas moist pussy lips. Meredith was deep in throes of ecstasy at the depravity of the act she was inflicting as she watched the Champion of Kirkwall butt fucking the will from a young mage girl one gallant thrust at a time, a beautiful metaphor of what Meredith had intended for the rest of mages within the city. All in good time, for tonight was solely about pleasure.

“I need more” Meredith growled. “Hawke, do me now!”

The strange request drew Hawkes attention away from their captive mage, allowing the young girl to once again collapse down onto the table beneath her, her body unwilling to respond to her mind. Hawke turned to find Meredith draped over her high back chair, her knees buried into the moulded seat while her hands were spread across the top of the high back for support, her legs spread wide in anticipation. “Fucking take me as hard and rough as you want, let me be your fucking slut cock slave!”

Hawke truly thought that the woman had descended into the realms of insanity, that the pressure of maintaining a city teetering on the outbreak of civil war had shattered her mind into a thousand tiny fragments. Once more suppressing her almost overwhelming urge to react Hawke approached her and pressed the tip of her fake manhood to Meredith’s dripping cunt. Hawke felt Meredith’s muscle convulsions cascading downwards to wash over her body in an electrified wave. Meredith growled beneath her ravaged breaths as Hawke plunged into her.

“Elsa” Meredith called out the name of her attendant, beckoning the girl to her master’s side. “Here” Elsa stepped beside Meredith’s chair, her dripping pussy mere centimetres from Meredith’s gapping mouth. Meredith reached out to clasp Elsa's firm buttocks in her hands, pressing her wet pussy lips to Meredith’s mouth. Meredith lapped at Elsa's dripping snatch, the young girls juices seeming to invigor her mistress to even greater depths of primal ecstasy.

“I bet you do this to your little forest cunt” Meredith purred, now completely lost in the sin of the acts she was committing. “I bet you fucking screw her like the elven slave dog she is. I bet she loves every second of it and comes grovelling to you on her hands and knees for more, begging to taken when her basest urges cannot be sated by demons and heretics”

Hawke could feel the anger boiling within her. Despite the prestige and power Meredith wielded among the city in Hawkes eyes the Knight Commander had been stripped of that title the moment she cast her Chantry robes to the floor. All that Hawke saw now was a mortal woman of flesh and blood, and she was fucking her wildly in the ass. Meredith’s body convulsed beneath Hawkes touch, Hawkes hands apprehensively clasped to Meredith’s sides for support. Hawke could feel her hips thrusting backwards and forwards with ever increasing speed born through the fires of anger, Meredith eagerly matching the movements.

“Now, in my ass!” Meredith ordered, Hawke swiftly obeyed. “Oh yes you Ferelden bitch, fuck me wild. Screw the master of the Templars, touch me where no man’s fingers may ever tread” Meredith reached back to take Hawkes hands in hers, bringing them forward to clasp Meredith’s ample breasts in her hands. Meredith guided Hawkes fingers to tweak and pull at her engorged nipples, only further exciting the Templar leader.

The pleasure reached its inevitable peak, Meredith’s orgasm thrusting her down into the embrace of the chair beneath her. Hawke knew Meredith had let slip the advantage. While she may have been a prime physical specimen of the human race the bodily exertion of their perverted union had clearly exhausted her and so now the powerful Knight Commander was swiftly reduced to a panting and moaning mass too eclipsed within primal bliss to be aware of the world around her.

Hawke knew she now stood at a precipice, the opportunity was laid before her, the very woman who threatened the safety of the city as a whole as well as those she cared for lay at her feet, too inebriated to offer any resistance. Hawke knew there was only one solution.

 

***********************

Hawke shambled weakly through the entrance of the Hawke family estate, a fresh burden weighing heavily upon her shoulders. The entire household was deafly silent at this late hour, as she entered the main living room she found her faithful Mabari War Hound Shadow basking in the warmth of the smouldering embers in the fireplace as he did every night. Hawke slowly tiptoed around her dependable hound, eager to evade rousing the rest of the house as well as avoiding a wet slobbering of greeting from her loyal hound.

Hawke was simply too exhausted even to remove her armour, the stain of her physical sweat as well as her moral failure a constant irritant against her skin. However she could not bring herself to remove the burden, it would serve as an appropriate punishment for her failings.

Hawke dragged herself unceremoniously into her room like a wounded man limping from the site of his armies defeat, she found her Elven companion curled up in their shared bed. Merrill was dressed in the fine flowing sky blue nightgown Hawke had bought for her the day they had been walking through the Hightown Market as something of a memento of their special night. The affectionate gift swiftly led to them eagerly recreating the memorable night that same evening. She looked so beautiful when she slept, like an elven goddess.

Hawke reluctantly slipped into bed beside her lover, careful not to disturb the slumbering beauty, she hoped that sleep would come swiftly to her and that the world would return to normality once the dawn rose. But even here there was little to be found that was usual, two people from far flung worlds forced to take up arms and mature before their time as they were thrust into a world that until now they dreamt had merely existed in their nightmares, only to find comfort in the warm embrace of eachothers arms.

She knew she could have ended the madness there and then; she could have sought retribution against the one who had threatened her lover, the woman whose hands were coated red with the blood of so many other innocents now laid dead. But she could not bring herself to do it; she could not lash out in anger, so she had left the estate without another word.

Seeming to respond unconsciously to her presence Merrill reached over to wrap her arm loosely around her partners’ body. Hawke responded by nuzzling herself into Merrill’s cheek, her warmth and her sweet scent wafting over her a dark reminder of her betrayal. _‘I loved her; I never wanted to hurt her. But I knew what I had to do, to keep my promise to my Elven Princess’_


	4. The Hawke and the Elven Servant

Several days had passed in the wake of that tainted night, and for Brianna Hawke and those she cared about life had simply returned to normality as though nothing had dared arisen to disturb it.

Despite her conflictions Hawke had not allowed it to hinder her and continued her days as normal. Tonight she found herself walking through the moonlit streets of the Hightown of Kirkwall in the arms of her lover, her _Shining Sea_ , Merrill. With all the time and energy Hawke seemed to commit to preventing the city from collapsing upon itself left little to sustain a budding romantic relationship. But tonight Brianna was giving her lover the evening together she had once promised, a night that would involve unshackled passions and desires. “Am I going to enjoy tonight?” Merrill asked with eager abandon.

“I promise” Hawke smiled, opening the door into the Hawke Estate.

Merrill leant in closer, pressing her lips to Hawkes ear. “Maybe if you’re good I could do that thing you like with your-”

“ _Hawke_ ” a familiar voice froze the couple in their step. Drawing their shared gaze to the far side of the lounge there sat the leader of the Templar Order, Knight Commander Meredith, basking in the heat of the roaring fireplace. “Forgive my unexpected intrusion” she rose from her seat to greet the Mistress of the estate. “Your elven servant girl allowed me in” Hawke stared back into the face of evil and forced herself not to respond. “And I have just been getting acquainted with your Mabari Hound” Meredith’s hand reached out to attempt to caress Shadow, standing just beyond her reach even as his body rumbled with barely supressed rage. “It is refreshing to see someone of such status who remembers where they come from, so many others have fallen terribly native” Although Meredith was Ferelden born all that Shadows keen eyes saw was a foreigner, an outsider.

“Orana” Hawke summoned her elven servant. “Can you please take Shadow out to the garden?”

“Yes Mistress” Orana stepped forward to coax the Mabari outside, leaving Hawke to converse with the Knight Commander in privacy.

“Knight Commander” Hawke stepped forward to shake Meredith’s offered hand, forcing a smile to her lips. “What an unexpected but by no means unpleasant visit” Hawke indicated Merrill with a wave of her hand. “May I introduce my partner, Merrill, First to Keeper Marethari of the Dalish Sabrae Clan” Merrill sheepishly stepped forward, bowing to the Knight Commander like the young daughter of a noble introduced at a formal meeting, merely to be seen but not heard.

Meredith smiled coldly before returning her attention to Hawke. “Hawke, I have matters of importance to discuss with you, in private”

Hawke took the unsubtle hint. “Merrill, why don’t you go upstairs? I’ll be up shortly as soon as I have concluded business with the Knight Commander”

“Alright, but don’t take too long” Merrill planted a soft kiss on Hawkes cheek, trailing her lips to whisper in Hawkes ear. “You don’t want me getting cold” with her playful reminder made Merrill gracefully turned and sauntered across the living room, ascending the stairs with an energetic skip, looking back only to flash her lover a playful wink.

Meredith watched with feigned interest as the girl departed, out of earshot. “She seems like such a sweet young girl” Meredith glanced back to face Hawke. “It is true what they say, that demons may take on the most beautiful disguises” Meredith sighed, settling comfortably back into her seat. “It is such a shame the Templar Order will be forced to cleanse her once they are made aware of what she truly is”

 

The comment quickly got Hawkes attention. “We had an agreement” she remarked sternly. Despite lacking her armour and weapons Hawke still felt as though she could maintain an intimidating presence even in the face of the much larger woman. “I work to expose genuine blood mages in exchange for the protection of Merrill and my companions”

“As we agreed” Meredith replied. “But you forget that your elven companion is herself a blood mage and that the apprehension of dangerous apostates remains your primary objective. All other concerns, including your perverted loyalty to your elven consort, remain firmly secondary”

“You still have yet to explain what has brought you here tonight” Hawke swiftly returned to the matter at hand, eager not to encourage her line of conversation further.

“I had wished to inform you of a number of meetings being orchestrated between traitors within the Templar ranks and escaped apostates, however seeing your lovely elven girl tonight has rather set my mind on other things. I believe she mentioned that you had made intimate plans for this evening. Oh what fond memories I have of youth held in a lovers embrace, how I wish I could experience the feeling again even for the briefest of moments”

Hawke was thrown, she knew Meredith could be conniving and even malevolent on occasions but she had never anticipated that the woman would be so cold blooded as to dare to suggest such a thing. “You can’t believe that I would allow you to-”

“Of course I would not wilfully ask to taste of another’s mate, it is simply not done” Meredith interrupted before the accusation could be made. “All that I humbly ask is that I be allowed to bear witness a young couple in love, a carefree reminder of better days before the burden of city began to weigh so heavily upon my shoulders”

Hawke stumbled. “But even that-”

“Ah” Meredith replied. “I see I have overstepped my bounds” Meredith rose from her seat in a single motion, smoothing out the ruffles of her robes. “My most sincere apologises, Hawke” she gave a courteous bow. “I shall leave you to your evening and return at a more appropriate time. Please, enjoy your intimacy with your elven girl and do not allow me to burden you any longer” Meredith’s words were unsettlingly civil given the secretly dark undertone carried beneath them, she held no illusions that the Knight Commander would be true to her word and allow them their night of intimacy undisturbed only to find a platoon of Templar Knights breaking down their front door as the sun rose into the sky. Meredith turned and departed towards the door as if it truly were to be the final word on the subject.

“If this is to occur as you say” Hawke finally spoke up. Meredith ceased her retreat a few steps short of leaving the estate. “Merrill can never learn of what is about to transpire”

Meredith turned back to face Hawke. “And just how do you plan to do that?”

_How it may be done?_ A question Brianna had yet to answer to herself. “Give me five minutes”

Meredith sighed wearily as if conceding an argument with a rebellious child. “Very well” Meredith returned herself to her seat, sending Hawke away with a wave of her hand. “Do what you must to spare your little girls feelings I shall wait here”

With the perilous gauntlet laid before her Hawke swiftly ascended the stairs to the second floor of the estate, already beginning to contemplate precisely how she would proceed in this seemingly impossible endeavour.

Left in silence Meredith idly lingered in her seat in the living room, disturbed only by the approach of the meek elven servant girl finally stepping forward to inquire. “Excuse me mistress, is there anything you require of me?”

 

****************************

Brianna lingered at the door to her bed chambers, daring to entertain the very thought that she would march back down the stairs to confront Meredith and see her cast out into the night with the aid of Shadows ferocious bark, and perhaps even his bite. But once again she felt the weight of the self imposed chains which bound her and forced her to stay her hand.

Gathering her composure she donned her mask and entered her room to be met by a sight which, under any other circumstances, would have her either charging with animalistic desire or left in a daze convinced that what she witnessed could not be reality. “I hope you don’t mind” Merrill’s tranquil voice carried across the room like a bewitching sirens call. “But I decided to speed things up a bit and just took all my clothes off myself” Hawke stared at Merrill wrapped up in the scarlet red sheets of the bed, a tempting invitation even a puritan would find hard to resist. “Now why don’t you come hither” Merrill lured her lover with a curled finger.

Hawke shuffled forward uneasily to sit at the edge of the bed, staring blindly into the floor in silent contemplation. “You appear unusually serious all of a sudden” Merrill placed her hands to Hawkes shoulders. “Did something happen with the Knight Commander?” Merrill’s fingers began to caress and massage the soft muscle.

Hawke bit down hard on her lip and suppressed the overwhelming urge to scream at the top her lungs that it was all a lie and that even now she felt the whispers in her ear, fingers on her spine, no way to break free. “I just, have a lot on my mind”

“Oh really” Merrill’s gentle hands suddenly became ravenous, descending down Hawkes front to linger tantalisingly close to Briannas heaving bosom. “Well maybe I can put something else into that mind of yours” Merrill purred as she buried her nose into the nape of Brianna’s neck.

Hawke could hear the gentle creak of floorboards just outside the door, a subtle whisper, a sound you would only hear if you knew to listen for it. ‘ _How much longer could she maintain this façade?_ ’ an idea suddenly came to her.

“Hold that thought” Hawke leapt from the bed like a Mabari War hound summoned to the hunt, she knew she would have to be swift. Dashing across the room to her bedroom dresser she began pawing through the draws in search of something which could serve her purpose. She found a flowing black scarf buried deeply within, although the weather was far too warm for it the garment would serve her needs today. Hawke swiftly returned to sitting on the bedside beside Merrill, reaching up to wrap the soft fabric around her head.

“What are you doing?” Merrill asked.

“I was thinking we could use this as a blindfold” Hawke explained as she secured the tie behind Merrill’s head.

“Why would we want to do that?” Merrill asked innocently.

Hawke was forced to think on her feet. “Because I thought we could try something different, try spicing things up a bit”

Merrill stared back at her companion, lacking any form of eye contact it was near impossible to interpret the reaction of the woman whose thoughts were as easy to follow as a Masters Edition of the Ecology of the Free Marches deciphered from ancient Dwarven script. “Ok” Merrill replied sweetly, as if in her mind she had just been asked if she wanted to visit the markets in the morning.

With the answer given Hawke felt another pang of guilt stab through her, Merrill trusted her with all her heart. She had been willing to let go of so much, leaving behind her home and her people so they could be together. And even after all that Hawke realized she was still willing to betray that trust if it was to save her. Hawke leant forward to place a loving kiss upon her lovers lips, feeling the warm caress as she returned the embrace. It was in that blissful moment of unspoilt joy shared between them that Brianna felt a cold and unwanted hand touch her shoulder, felt the breeze of another’s breath pass her ear. “ _A blindfold_ ” the voice whispered silently. “ _A nice touch_ ” Hawke turned to be met by the sight of the Knight Commander herself, the fact that she had been able to come so close without Hawke even being aware of her presence unsettled her deeply.

“Where did you go?” Merrill asked, once more returning Hawkes attention to her elven partner. “If you’re not there can you put your hand up?”

Hawke pointed a finger sharply towards the Meredith, swiftly snapping it across to indicate the chair across the room, her eyes burning with a ‘Sit and be quiet’ gesture, hoping the Knight Commander would be capable of interpreting the unsubtle hint without spiteful misinterpretation. Meredith accepted the muted request with a weary roll of her eyes, stepping off of the bed to sit at the chair across the room.

With Meredith under control, at least for the moment, Hawke busied herself by releasing the delicate ties which kept her top wrapped tightly around her athletic frame. Hawke cast her top aside into an unimportant area of the room, allowing her to swiftly return her attentions to Merrill. Clambering on top of the bed Hawke caressed her elegant finger tips across Merrill’s ample chest. “Oh you’re back” Merrill said. “I was worried you just up and left right in the middle of lovemaking”

Hawke felt another pang of guilt pierce her heart. “No Merrill” Hawke placed her lips to Merrill’s cheek. “I could never leave you” while Hawkes lips danced across her lovers cheek, leaving a gentle trail of kisses across her lovers neck, her scurrying hands explored her modest bust with eager hunger.

Hawkes ears heard the unmistakable ruffle of fabric across fabric, out of the corner of her eye Hawke could see Meredith unfurling the tie of fabric from around her waist which held her Chantry robes to her midriff. Allowing the soft material to slip across her skin Meredith parted the seam to allow her hands freedom to roam across her ample chest as well as delve deeply into her writhing nethers as she idly watched the display before her.

“Mistress! I-” Hawke ended the kiss as the stifled yelp of a voice carried across the room. Brianna looked back over her shoulder to see the elven girl Orana standing in the doorway a tray of fresh fruit held between her hands and a stunned expression strewn across her face. “I am so sorry, I thought…” Orana suddenly averted her gaze as the true realization of what had occurred dawned upon her. “I thought” she stammered, probing her unfamiliar English in search of the words. “I thought that you would like some fruit to eat but I… didn’t know you and Mistress Merrill would be…”

“It’s alright Orana” Brianna attempted to reassure the fragile girl.

“I’ll just leave it here and-” Orana, eager to bid a hasty retreat in the face of overwhelming embarrassment, moved to lay the tray on the desk and depart the room swiftly.

“Actually, bring that fruit over here” Merrill spoke. “I’m starving”

Orana bit her lip and resisted the growing urge to flee and, under request from her mistress, silently stepped forward to offer the tray of fresh treats to her mistress. Hawke was surprised that Orana did not react to the sight of the Templar Knight Commander idly teasing herself whilst savouring the sight of Hawke and her partner in a lovers embrace. Orana shuffled unsettlingly towards the bedside, Meredith’s hand to reached out to clasp Oranas arm in her hand. With her free hand reached up to pluck a ripe strawberry from the serving tray as the girl passed her, tasting the succulent fruit on her lips. Satisfied at the taste and texture Meredith pressed the tip of the succulent fruit to her other lips, feeling the foreign object probe and delve where few had dared to caress before. Satisfied in her sordid act she replaced the tainted strawberry atop the mound like an offering upon an altar to a god before ushering the elven serving girl away with an idle wave of her hand.

Orana stepped forward to place the fresh bowl of fruit down onto the table beside the bed. “Hmm” rumbled within Merrill’s throat, Merrill glanced over at Orana with what Hawke expected would be her bedroom eyes. “Care to join us Orana?”

“Thank you for your generous offer, Mistress” Oranas cheeks flared red with embarrassment. “But I must attend to my chores and…”

“Very well” Merrill sighed. “But if you get bored you know where we will be” Merrill giggled. “And what we will be doing”

Orana departed towards the bedroom door, eager to bid a hasty retreat while could the opportunity still presented itself for her. However just as she reached the end of the bed she felt the long fingers of Meredith’s hand wrapping around her wrist, Orana froze in her step, suppressing a yelp beneath her breath. Meredith yanked on Oranas arm, drawing her close she pressed her lips to Oranas ear, whispering beneath her breath low enough to remain silent to the world around them.

It was far too great of a coincidence to think that Orana would emerge unannounced in her mistress’s personal chambers, both against her usually rather timid manner and the presence of the Knight Commander herself. Hawke suspected that some combination of enticement and intimidation on Meredith’s part had led the naive girl along this dark path. Brianna’s fears became reality when rather than abandoning the room with all the panicked haste she could muster Orana instead reached out and closed the door before her and silently lingered at the edge of the room, remaining to see tonight’s sordid act through to its bitter end.

Content that they were now ‘alone’ Merrill was eager to return her attentions to her lover. “Now that I’ve got you to myself” Merrill pulled the taller woman on top of her, nuzzling the tip of her nose into the nape of Hawkes neck. “Maybe we can enjoy some private snuggles”

Merrill reached out and plucked a fresh strawberry from atop the mound of fruit sitting beside their bed. The succulent fruit glistened with fresh juice whose origins Hawke had only questioned once she remembered the circumstances which had brought them to this moment. Hawke considered intervening now, but chose to stay her hand, the looming threat of discovery too great to simply cast aside, so despite her wishes, she allowed the sinful act to continue.

The temporarily sightless girl opened her lips to accept the offered treat. Merrill sucked and licked the sweet fruit, a peculiar array of alien flavours cascading across her tongue. Hawke had no doubt that by restricting her ability to see it would only enhance her already well attuned sense of flavour to the point where she could not help but taste the lingering impurity.

“Hmm” Merrill hummed softly. “They’re so sweet, remind me to ask Orana to buy more of these the next time she visits the market” and once again Hawke felt her heart sink in her chest. Merrill reached out to pluck another strawberry from the bowl. “Here, you’ve got to try one”

Merrill held out the treat for her partner to accept. Hawke leant forward to taste of the forbidden fruit, only to have Merrill swiftly pop her tasty morsel into her mouth. Holding the fresh fruit between her teeth she puckered her lips in anticipation of her lover’s soft lips, it would seem that her prize would not be claimed so easily. Hawke leant forward to touch the tip of the soft fruit, suckling the sweet nectar before biting the berry in half and feeling the sweet juice wash across her palette.

“Hmm” Merrill hummed softly beneath her breath as she tasted her half of the delectable fruit. While their bodies were intertwined their minds were free to roam, a smile swiftly came to Hawkes lips at the prospect of ever more night time naughtiness to come.

The soft, gentle coo of music suddenly began to fill the air around them. Hawke glanced up from her lover to see Orana sitting, idly strumming at the strings of her Lute, by the fireplace.

“Oh” Merrill whispered. “I can hear music, Orana practicing her Lute again”

Hawke saw that Orana had taken her Lute which she had left beside the bedroom fire place, her long fingers gently strumming the strings as she began to play a familiar song as she sat in the shimmering light of the fireplace.

“She does play it so beautifully” Hawke mused.

“The perfect echo to sustain our love making” Merrill said softly, feeling her being swept up in the flow and ebb of the music, letting it move over her.

Orana played her graceful melody practiced over the space of many days and weeks, each crease and ebb gently smoothed through time and practice. She suddenly felt the unfettered hands of another upon her sides; she continued to play despite the interruption. Orana looked up to be met by the sight of the Knight Commander herself, the taller woman’s long fingers roamed and caressed across her shoulders in rhythmic circles.

Orana persisted despite the unwanted caresses which singed her skin and enflamed her senses, fearing that silencing the music would only draw undue attention, and she could not dare interrupt her Mistresses love making. Since birth she had lead a harsh and troubled life of a slave bound to the will of a Tavinter Magister. Her father had sacrificed much to save her, and in the end it had cost him his life. She was taken to a new city, remaining a servant to another amongst a society who saw her entire race as lesser beings, the few small kindnesses Mistress Hawke had given her could not help to remove the dark taint of her past. Yet despite the darkness there was a light in her life, her love of music, as long as she could play she could never succumb to despair. Now, she could take some small comfort that her Mistresses were enjoying her music.

Oranas voice whispered within her mind, every fibre of her being screamed for her to charge across the room and tear the blindfold from the elven girls eyes. She wanted to show her the truth, the harsh realities of what was truly transpiring as much to spare her further humiliation as to punish her for her hubris, show her the darkness and despair which consumed her seemingly perfect world. But she could not bear herself to rise; the golden haired Templars chains bound her tightly. All that she could do was to play her song.

Orana continued to watch as Merrill and her mistress exchanged an array of kisses licks and tender caresses. A small part of her wished to someday know the love they felt for each other. She wished to know the press of another’s body against hers, the gentle caress of their fingers intertwined together, to feel the warmth of their breath against her ear as they whispered ‘I love you’.

Meredith’s roaming hands did not remain tame for long, quickly and eagerly delving their path southwards across Oranas modest chest towards the seam of her pure white top, feeling the gentle swell of her breast beneath her undershirt. Orana was not blind to the sins of the flesh, Mistress Hadriana had taken hold of her many times to fulfil some deviant sexual pleasure only to cast her slave aside once that primal desire had been sated. But to feel another’s hands upon her skin, to feel the caress of their warm breath across the nape of her neck, a pleasure she may never truly know for herself. Meredith placed a flirtatious kiss upon Oranas cheek; placing her lips to Oranas ear she whispered dark secrets to the young elf. “I see the look you have in your eyes and the glint in hers as you admire the swell of her breast. You both want this, it is all that the two of you desire. Give in, let yourself go, and begin again”

Meredith’s fingers curled, tickling her fingertips across Oranas bare skin. Her hands were ravenous, grasping and caressing at any bare piece of flesh she could lay her hands on. Meredith’s hands touched the nub of Oranas bare nipple, the young girl let out a sharp yelp as her fingers caught on the strings of her lute.

The soft tune of Oranas music suddenly trailed off into silence. The unexpected calm forced Brianna to react quickly for fear of discovery. Meredith could not help but elicit a soft chuckle at the prospect, watching Hawke paw and grope at Merrill’s chest through fits of frantic kisses, if only to delay discovery of the truth a few seconds longer. “Well, you certainly have a lot of intensity tonight” Merrill mused.

While Hawke was distracted Meredith placed another flirtatious kiss on Oranas cheek before drawing her close to whisper untold secrets into her ear. The revelation of her words stunned the young elf into taking a gasping breath, tears beginning to well in the corners of her eyes. The girl suppressed a harried cry, turning on her heel she swiftly returned to her mistresses’ side.

Hawke looked back over her shoulder to be met by the sight of her elven girl, lines of fresh tears trickling down her clear white cheeks. “ _I’m so sorry Mistress_ ” she whispered beneath her breath, low enough for only Hawkes ears to hear her.

Before Hawke could decipher what cryptic meaning lay beneath her words Orana reached out and grabbed the hem of Hawkes skirt, swiftly yanking it down she revealed the soft curves of Hawkes bare buttocks to her Templar captors prying eyes. Before Hawke could part her lips to protest she felt the harsh crack of flesh striking flesh as Orana smacked Hawkes bare arse with the palm of her open hand. “Ahh!” Hawke elicited a pained cry at the sudden strike.

“What was that?” Merrill asked quizzically.

“I thought I saw a spider on the ceiling” was Hawkes quick response.

“Oh” Merrill cooed. “Someone else watching us do naughty things” Hawke bit her lip as her heart sank once more. “Now, why don’t you get all creepy crawly all over me?” Merrill’s scurrying fingers mimicked the legs of a creeping spider across her bare stomach.

Orana struck another decisive blow, Hawke reacted on instinct, lashing out to strike her elven lover across her bare breasts in a desperate attempt to cover her cries.

“Ow! What was that?” Merrill cried out, the searing burn lingering in the wake of the unexpected strike.

Hawke had to think quickly if her tissue thin façade was to be preserved. “I was tempted to try something new, a bit rough, mix things up a little bit”

Merrill stared up at her with what Hawke anticipated would be a blank expression of suspicion and disdain. “Ooh, you are so ravenous today, like a wild beast” without hesitation or prudence Merrill reached out to clip her lover across her bare bosoms, a rather karmatic retribution for her previous sins. “Now” Merrill thrust her chest out like a proud soldier ready to receive a medal for his services to his country. “Do me again”

Hawke received another strike to her buttocks, spurring her to deliver another blow to the bosom of her elven lover. Merrill was quick to return the favour in this rather sordid game of slaps, Hawke was careful to time her strikes with Oranas in an attempt to conceal herself, not an easy task when she could not dare to turn and face her serving girl.

Oranas barrage of sharp smacks against her plump cheeks suddenly ceased, Hawke began to fear what new act of corruption could follow this seeming moment of silent harmony. Orana emerged alongside Brianna and Merrill at the edge of the bed, cautiously trailing the tips of her fingers across Merrill’s flat stomach, sending a gentle tingling wave across Merrill’s body. Her agile fingers moved further upwards to caress Merrill’s scarlet breasts, massaging the skin still left sore after the brutal assault. Oranas hands massaged the muscles in Merrill’s shoulders with practised ease and elegance. Merrill’s wandering fingers sought out the angels touch to hold Oranas hands in her own; Hawke was quick to catch Merrill’s wandering hands before the façade could be shattered.

“I want you Hawke” Merrill panted. “I want to taste your fruit”

Hawke smiled. “You always had a sweet tooth” Hawke knew that if she did not bring herself to joke about this it would only be a matter of time until her fragile mask was shattered, either through rage or anguish in equal measure. Hawke lifted herself up onto her hands and knees, crawling along the length of the wide bed beside her elven lover, turning herself she lifted her leg over Merrill to straddle her face between her legs.

Merrill inhaled softly, the luscious scent washing through her lungs. “Hmm, another delectable treat for me to taste” Merrill’s tongue emerged from between her crimson lips to probe the empty air before her in search of her target. Hawke eagerly awaited the looming moment of contact with baited breath, only to be jolted from her blind trance only when she felt the press of another body against her back. She felt Oranas gentle hands clasp her sides as she was forced forward from her perch, feeling the warm caress of Merrill’s tongue drift slowly away from her. Orana shuffled forward to replace her master, biting her lip as she felt Merrill’s explorative tongue probe and caress her underside. Merrill’s lips coupled softly to Oranas, sucking, licking and kissing as she wished across Oranas soft skin.

With great care, so as not to disturb their union, Hawke slowly slid herself off of the bed to stand beside them. Orana played the role of her Mistress well and, with little reason to question otherwise, Merrill continued to be absorbed by the charade. Orana began to feel her strength leaving her body, her will to resist quickly vanishing, her mind doing its utmost to ensure her body remained in check. With no more energy to sustain her Orana suddenly fell forwards, reaching out for support her hands unceremoniously fell atop Merrill’s exposed chest.

“Oh Hawke, your hands are everywhere” Merrill cooed, writhing and turning as her soft hands caressed her nipples. “Is there nowhere your fingers cannot reach”

Orana suddenly yelped sharply. Hawke quickly kissed Oranas lips to avoid her calling out. Orana began squirming and writhing in her place, Hawke wrapped her hands around Oranas shoulders to keep her still. Hawke began to wonder if Merrill’s tongue really had become that good? Hawke felt the spark emanating between the two of them, she knew the truth. “Merrill, are you casting a spell on me again?”

Merrill smiled coyly beneath her blindfold. “I was reading some of Anders notes he left lying around in his clinic, a few were particularly interesting. I always thought ‘Master of the Hunt’ was one of Varrics rhyming jokes”

“Master of the Hunt, eh?” Hawke helped Orana to clamber off of Merrill’s quivering body, allowing her to step gracefully aside to the edge of the room. “Perhaps I will have to prove the Ferelden Mabari War Hound as the true…” Hawke caressed the tips of her fingers along Merrill’s bare thighs as she sauntered elegantly along the edge of the bed. “Master of the Hunt”

Hawke crouched down to press her lips to Merrill’s slit, inhaling the waft of fresh scent emanating from her as she was drawn ever so teasingly towards a final glorious conclusion. With Orana now taken safely from harms grasp Hawke idealistically hoped that the remainder of the night would pass seamlessly and without incident between them. But the truth was she should have known of the devious and twisted mind which inhabited the body of the cities Knight Commander, the depths she would delve. She had already anticipated the attempted subversion and was already preparing steps to correct it.

While Hawke had her nose buried between her elven lovers spread legs Meredith had raised from her place of rest at the fringes of the room, swiftly taking hold over the young elven girl as a predator would grasp her prey. Meredith tugged and pulled at Oranas skirt, yanking the garment down around her ankles she allowed herself free reigns over all the young girl had to offer her. Meredith’s left hand touched and teased at the young girls lips as she saw fit, suddenly from her unseen right hand emerged from behind her back holding a delicate toy. The toy was a faux phallus made of finely polished wood, hinted with a sweet scent of lavender and rose, secured with fine leather straps to allow it to slip seamlessly around a woman’s ample waist. With dexterous fingers Meredith secured the exotic device around Oranas waist, tightening the straps to hug snugly around her slim hips. With her hands grasping Oranas waist Meredith gently guided her forwards, it was only when Hawke felt the tip of the faux penis press against her opening that she realised the harsh reality of the situation. The sudden revelation came too late to change events as Orana was forced to slowly push the tip in further, the shaft slowly being drawn in by Hawkes accommodating pussy lips.

Orana began to move back and forth with the command of Meredith’s firm hands, settling into a regular rhythm of thrusts and counter thrusts as she entered and retreated again and again. Hawke continued to lap at her lovers lips, her preoccupation allowed Meredith to manoeuvre silently around the edge of the bed without discovery. Just as Orana pulled herself free in anticipation of another sharp thrust Meredith reached over, clutching Hawkes sides she pulled her aside just as Orana was preparing to deliver another vengeful blow. The resistance suddenly dissipating caused the young girl to stumble forward, the tip of her faux penis burying itself deeply into Merrill’s wet pussy lips. Merrill writhed and turned on the bed, reaching out to clutch a handful of the sheets in her hands as she called out from deep within her throat. Orana began to cry and sob beneath her baited breath, a thinly veiled mutter which threatened to unravel all they had accomplished. Hawke leant forward to press her lips to Oranas to silence her cries. Hawkes free hand reached around to clasp Oranas firm rump in her hand, a small amount of pressure was all that was necessary to encourage Orana forward once again.

Hawke felt Meredith’s hands take hold of her once more, slowly drawing her away until the bond of their lips was broken and Hawke felt herself being pulled backwards into Meredith’s arms. “I can feel you’re wet” Meredith whispered beneath her breath, the fringes of Meredith’s free hand reaching down to caress Hawkes moist slips. “And yet you have barely had the opportunity to indulge in the pleasure of the evening. Did you truly become aroused by hearing me say that word, or was it watching your slave girl pleasure your elven consort which tipped you over the edge?”

Hawke silently watched the two elven women in their bed, one being carried away in a blissful embrace with the other on the verge of tears. Hawke was more surprised by Meredith, by the fact that somehow she could refrain from indulging her pleasures herself in the face of so much primal energy and desire lay out before her.

“You see the power I have, the influence I wield” Meredith whispered in Hawkes ear with a serpent’s tongue. “There is nothing of yours I cannot hold” Meredith’s hands massaged Hawkes shoulders, feeling the tense muscle moving beneath her fingers. “No place is beyond my caress. All that is yours is mine” Meredith’s fingers ran through Hawkes long brown hair. “Your chocolate hair is mine to stroke and play with” her hands moved to touch Hawkes lips. “Your lips are mine to kiss and taste of their sweetness” Meredith’s adventurous fingers descended down Hawkes front, settling atop her well formed breasts. “Your perky nipples are mine to tweak and call to rise as I wish” Meredith’s fingers did linger for long. “And your cunt” Meredith’s fingers caressed Hawkes flat stomach, descending to find their nest betwixt the woman’s legs. “Is mine to probe and tease as I will” In order to save the ones she loved Hawke had been forced to make her bargain with a demon, and pay the terrible price in honour and truth. Yet now she realised that in order to keep the ruse together her own desires and passions had been neglected and untouched despite the smouldering embers still burning within her. To feel Meredith’s fingers upon her now was fast bringing her to the brink of-

 

“Brianna” Merrill panted though quivering lips, the sweat born of their love making soaking her flustered cheeks. “I need to see your face” Merrill’s hands reached up to caress the hem of her blindfold. “Let me see your face”

Hawkes heart froze in her chest, she knew she had to react quickly before the truth could be undone. Hawke broke free of Meredith’s grasp, charging forward with her mind ablaze but her feet seeming to move several seconds behind her. She reached the edge of the bed and cast herself forward with all her strength, Merrill’s fingers grasped the hem of her blindfold pulling it free as her eyes began to adjust to the light as she saw the flicker of shadows in front of her.

Hawkes lips pressed against Merrill’s, her blindfold slipping from her hand to fall beside the bed as she embraced her lovers soft touch in kind. The kiss finally ended, the two lovers parted to gaze into eachothers eyes in the wake of their shared union. “You look so beautiful tonight” Merrill dared to plant another kiss on Hawkes lips. “I love you so much”

Merrill collapsed back down onto the bed beside her human lover. “That was amazing; you really are getting better at this. I bet you would make the girls at the Blooming Rose blush”

Hawke looked over onto her back, her eyes scanning in search of any trace of those who came before, not a single sign of them lingered. “You know” the sound of Merrill’s voice trailed softly in the back of her mind. “Maybe next time you could wear the blindfold. Or maybe a cute little serving girl outfit or one of those tight little bodices they have at the-”

“I have to go” Hawke said flatly, quickly clambering off the bed without another word.

“What do you mean?” Merrill asked.

Hawke refused to face her, swiftly gathering her discarded clothing and redressing with haste. “I’m sorry, I can’t explain now, but there is something I have to do

“Aw” Merrill purred “Can’t it wait? I wanted us to stay and cuddle a little while longer”

Without another word Hawke tied her belt around her waist, grabbing her short blade from her desk and charging out of the room. Merrill lingered on the bed, clutching the sheets to herself as she felt the warm afterglow of their union as she sat in bittersweet silence.

 

*****************************

Hawke moved through the estate with blistering determination, her extended stride allowing her to cover the distance in moments. As she passed the closed door to Oranas room she heard the soft whimpers of a girl whose innocence has been scorned. Hawke yearned to consol the traumatised young girl, help soothe the scars that could never be healed, but she could not afford to delay any longer. Bursting out into the empty street she found the city deafly silently, the biting chill of the night air nipping at her exposed skin. Hawke feared that she had lost her-

“ _Well I didn’t expect to see you up yet_ ” a voice carried through the silent night. Hawke turned sharply to be met by the sight of the cities Knight Commander Meredith leaning against the wall, a sinister smirk spread across her lips. “I thought you might have had a bit more fun beating your corrupted blood mage lover while your elven slave girl violated her in all manner of unclean ways. Really, the sexual deviancy that some nobles will succumb to is unthinkable”

“That was too far” Hawke growled. “It is me you have quarrel with, Orana and Merrill are innocent”

“Oh, I don’t know” Meredith giggled. “You seemed to be enjoying it somewhat yourself and I heard no complaints from your two elven wenches either” Meredith inhaled through her teeth, stretching as the muscles unravelled after a long period of tension. “And I must admit that it proved no bore to observe such lewd acts in the making disguised as genuine affection betwe-”

This would prove the final straw. “Enough!” Meredith’s body snapped rigid, a reaction less from fear or surprise but from an instinctive response to a threat born through decades of military service. “I will not be your slave and I bow to no dictator”

“Some may consider those words a threat, against the Templar Order no less” Meredith cracked a deviant smile across her lips. “A capital offence”

Hawkes eyes narrowed, she felt her hand reaching towards the blade at her belt, but once more she summoned her force of will to stay her hand. Stepping forward she pressed herself to Meredith’s chest, rising to meet the woman eye to eye. “Tread carefully Meredith or you risk awakening the dragon side of me” Merrill had always talked of her ‘Dragon side’, she said that anytime she saw Brianna angry or in pain it was like she was consumed in flames and moved with the speed and ferocity of a dragon. She said it was both beautiful and terrifying in equal measure, Hawke had hoped she would never have to show Merrill that side of her ever again. “I have stayed my hand on many occasions when I would have eagerly ended your life, but there is only so much I am willing to condone. Should any harm come to any of my companions I shall personally see the Chantry burned to the ground with you at its blazing heart” With her peace made Hawke turned at her heel and re-entered the estate, leaving Meredith standing in the street in bitter silence.

“ _Mistress_ ” from the shadows emerged a figure dressed in flowing black robes which allowed them to meld seamlessly with the dark places of the city, Hawke had clearly been too blind with rage to take any notice of them. “Are you all right?” the observer cast back the hood of their cloak. “She had no right to address you as she did” they glanced towards the door of the Hawke estate as if expecting Hawke to return and make good on her threats. “May I humbly request your blessing to enact the solution?”

“No, Elsa” Meredith replied, neglecting to face her assistant. “Though Hawke may be proving more trouble than she is worth killing her now would only make her a Martyr, bring more to the attention of the apostates” Meredith was quick to change the subject of the conversation. “How goes the research on the item?”

“Mistress, the Templar weapon smiths have smelted the idol procured from the dwarf and are forging it into a weapon fit only to be wielded in your service. They have said the lyrium material is like no other they have ever seen before, soft and malleable and yet strong and unyielding. They called it, beautiful”

Meredith appeared oblivious to her words. “Hawke has other family in the city correct?”

“Yes, Mistress” Elsa said. “After the death of her mother and brother her only remaining family is her uncle living in Lowtown and her sister currently within the Circle”

“A sister?” Meredith’s mood seemed to lighten. “I am sure her sister must be devastated by the death of her mother, perhaps I shall give her my personal condolences”

 

Brianna returned to her bedchambers with a heavy heart and bitter taste in her mouth to find Merrill curled up amongst the tangled sheets softly cooing in her sleep. Hawke carefully sat down on the edge of the bed so as not to disturb the slumbering beauty. Gently reaching out she ran the tips of her fingers across Merrill’s bare side, she looked she calm as she slept, so innocent, which made the burden of her deceit all the more difficult to bear. Hawke could not believe that Merrill had not become aware of her deception, Merrill may have been a young naïve girl but she was not blind, she above any other s knew the darkest depths of the word they lived in.

There was no way she could continue on like this, and with her submission to Meredith cast aside there was no obligation for her to offer mercy or pardon against those who had chosen to defy her. It would prove near impossible to keep the secret hidden for long and better that she hears the truth from her than from the tainted lips of the woman whose depravity had shattered the virtue of those innocents caught in her path. If only she had done what she knew was necessary all this could have-

“Rawr!” Merrill suddenly leapt from seeming unconsciousness to wrap her arms tightly around Brianna’s shoulders, lacking the will to resist Brianna could do little but submit as Merrill began to playfully nibble at the nape of her neck. “I’m a Mabari War Hound and I going to devour you little Hare” truly the energy of this girl was inexhaustible. “You thought you could outrun me but…” Hawke remained silent to Merrill’s game. “What’s wrong?” Merrill asked, her uncharacteristically serious tone demonstrated that she knew something was amiss, there was little that could be done to conceal it from her now and she could bear the burden no longer.

“Merrill” Hawke looked her lover in her deep green eyes, her shining sea, she looked so beautiful. “There is something I need to tell you”

 

*****************************

Days had come and passed since the night of the Knight Commanders unexpected visitation and Hawke had boldly defied her Templar master and cast her out into the night with a promise that she would defend her family and her companions with the bladed edge of her Greatsword. The fact that the Hawke Estate had survived this long without a battalion of Templar Knights breaking down their door in retribution could only be a fortuitous sign of their continued survival. But even as the physical threat had been kept at bay the psychological inflictions were not so easily overcome.

After her heartfelt confession Merrill had admitted that she had known of Meredith’s presence from the beginning, she had maintained the deception to save them both from the Knight Commanders iron fist. She had accepted her partner’s actions with a love and dedication Hawke doubted that she had ever deserved from her, she had accepted it because she knew that Brianna had done everything for her. Orana however remained in a far more fragile state than Hawke had ever anticipated. It turned out she had been instructed by Meredith to prepare fruit for her mistress and bring it to her in their chambers but when faced with the sight of Hawke and Merrill together Meredith had taken advantage of her vulnerability to satisfy her own twisted desires. With no other choice in the matter she found herself easily taken in by Meredith’s threats of violence and imprisonment, she finally submitted to her demands. Only time would tell if such trauma could ever be recovered from.

Hawke walked into her personal chambers alone. Sitting at her desk she held her head in her hands, this tranquil moment of silent contemplation the only time she had been finally able to piece together the events of the past few days. The lies, deceit and the torment, it was almost too great for a single person to bear. Finally Hawke glanced up and saw the pile of letters stacked in the corner of her desk. Forcing her arm from her side she reached over to pluck a letter from the pile, seeing the insignia drawn on the seal forced her to hastily tear open the letter and read over the contents.

_My dear sister,_

_They told me it would be permissible if I sent you a note, to tell you I’m doing well here. Are you still well? After all the things that have happened I can’t help but worry about what you’re getting yourself into these days. You always were the more adventurous one, even when we were children._

_Amelia, you remember the girl who lived next door to us in Lothering? Came to me that we might be able to return there someday, I always hoped we would. To remember those times before we came to Kirkwall, such a joyful childhood. Me, you and Amelia would play hide and seek in the rocks by the river at the base of the windmill._

_She would always be easy to spot with her long blonde hair amongst the green grass, I miss those days. Did you ever hear if she or her sister made it to safety before the Darkspawn came? Terrible memories of those monsters still haunt me, Carver, poor Carver. Things that came from the depths of the void to take our brother from us, what Maker would allow that? To see him here today, that’s all I ever wanted since coming here. Me, you and mother made it to safety at least; we can take some comfort in that._

_She would have been so proud to see you today. Is Uncle Gamlen still in good health? Planning to try and resell the family home again I bet, if he keeps this up we’ll end up living back in Gamlens house down in the docks. To end up back on the street working for Athenril again, we already gave three years of our life working for the Red Iron; I could not let that happen to you again. Attack against the city was a bold strategy by the Qunari; the political shift has changed the face of things from what we once knew. The city has become a dangerous place; I don’t think I can go back. Chantry is where I belong now, where it’s safe._

_Please look after yourself. Stop worrying about mother. Her spirit lives on in us always, just have a little faith._

_Bethany_

 

Hawke dared herself to reread the note again and again, hoping that she had not misread it or seen meaning behind empty words, tragically the sentiments proved truthful. Hawke crumpled the letter in her hand, casting it aside onto the desk she rose sharply to her feet and stormed across the room. With practiced efficiency born through years of rehearsal and refinement she swiftly equipped her weapons and armour to herself, checking and rechecking every strap and every belt before charging out of the estate.

She was going to kill Meredith.


	5. The Hawke and the Smuggler

**********The evening after the night Meredith departed the Hawke Estate**********

 

“I have a delicate matter” Meredith said. “I believe you could be of assistance”

Feet rose from the shadows cast from the overhanging chandelier onto the far end of the solid oak table which spanned several places separating them; Meredith overlooked the insult given the task at hand. “You are familiar with the Hawke family. You were close?” Meredith’s hand subtly snaked beneath the lip of the table.

“ _For a time_ ”

“Then you know what it is that I wish of you” Meredith replied.

“ _Perhaps, but_ _why come to me? You command the city guards and military of an entire city, click your fingers and your toy soldiers will rise to do your bidding_ ”

Meredith leant back in her chair. The human apostate Evelina shuffled out from beneath the table to rise to her feet beside her mistress, her bare body glistening with sweat as she licked her lips clean of the remains of her mistresses’ pleasure. Meredith reached her hand up to her exposed breast to tease herself onto the edge, leaning over Meredith whispered in Evelinas ear. Without a word Evelina drifted into the shadows and returned with the requested item held between her hands.

“I am afraid this is a task of a sensitive mature that is beyond the abilities of the Templar Order” Meredith said.

Evelina knelt behind her Mistress, Meredith raising herself from her chair she revealed that she had been completely disrobed for the full duration of their meeting. Evelina caressed her hands up the length of Meredith’s sculpted legs as she trailed her way upwards towards her hips. Slipping the leather straps around her waist and securing them with a sharp yank, her long fingers reached forward to caress the elegant shaft which emerged ahead of her.

Meredith snapped her fingers and pointed to the table before her. Evelina obediently laid her back down on the head of the table, spreading her legs invitingly to Meredith’s hungry approach like a well domesticated pet. Meredith pressed herself forward to pierce the girl’s outer lips.

“ _What did you have in mind?_ ”

“The older Hawke has strayed beyond her boundary. So now it is necessary to return her to the fold” Meredith punctuated each of her final words with an unapologetic thrust. “This will require your unique skill set”

“ _You’re saying you want the older one dealt with?_ ”

“No” Meredith replied sharply. “The oldest is not to be harmed; our focus is to remain on the younger”

“ _You know that the older will not stand for this. She will know you were responsible, she will not hesitate to seek revenge_ ”

“That is not your concern” Meredith replied. “You only need complete the task as I have directed”

“ _My concern or not, this will still necessitate payment_ ”

“I assure you that payment for services rendered shall not be an issue” Meredith snapped her fingers, summoning her tranquil attendant Elsa handed her a satchel of coin. Meredith hefted the bag in her free hand before casting it to slide down the length of the table.

A hand reached out to pluck the bag of sovereigns as it slid past, testing the weight of the coins in their hand. “ _I think I have just what you are looking for_ ”

 

*****************************

The grand wooden door swung open on its rusted hinges, creaking with the strain of aged metal scraping against metal. A figure draped in the flowing blue robes of the Circle stepped into the grand hall of the Circle Library, the soft tap of their boots against the carpeted floor, their features concealed beneath the shadow of a hood.

The woman had been debating whether she should have met her here or in her quarters. She could have hurt the young girl where she felt she was safest and secure; this was a false goal which would only serve to force her away from the safe security of the Circle. The library was the perfect place, open, public, and the single place beyond her room where she had spent any significant time since coming to the Circle.

Stepping into the centre of the library she found herself in a sea of desks at which mages and magic users of varying ages and experience studied to control their cursed practices beneath the watchful gaze of the Knights Templars standing guard at the edge of the room. The woman took her seat at the desk across from another young woman, an alchemetical textbook laid out on the table before her. The student brushed a long brown strand of hair from her eyes, reaching over to take another sip of water from her cup before setting it down at the edge of the desk. “I know who you are” the woman’s eyes never drifted from the text. “Knight Commander”

The visitor sighed beneath her breath. “Very well, then I guess there is little reason to maintain the charade any longer” Meredith rapped her knuckles against the solid wood surface of the table, the sharp sound reverberating through the cavernous room.

At the unspoken command the Templar Knights standing guard around the perimeter of the library reached for the hilt of their sheathed swords with a thunderous crash of armour striking plates. In perfect order the few other mages studying within the room wordlessly rose from their chairs and departed the library in a timely hurry, their Templar guards following in step to leave the once bustling library in solemn silence.

“There” with a single flutter of her fingers she cast the hood of her robes back over her shoulders, allowing her blonde hair to spill out. “Now we may speak freely”

“About what?” Bethany Hawke asked.

“Whatever you wish” Meredith replied.

“My sister perhaps?” Bethany inquired; a momentarily unsettled crease emerged across Meredith’s cheeks. “Your grip is not as all consuming as you may believe. Despite your censorship we still hear of events beyond the Circle”

“Indeed” Meredith replied. “It seems your older sister has become one of the most influential members within the city, I’m sure she would make your mother proud”

“May her spirit rest in peace knowing her daughter is fighting to keep the city safe from harm” Bethany replied. “And what may she say of her other daughter? Or of her son who sacrificed his life to save his mother and his sisters?”

“Indeed” Meredith said. “Your mother must be proud of all her children as she takes her place at the Makers side, free of the taints which corrupt this world”

“And yet there are those who continue to willingly embrace their taint”

“Indeed, those who do not realise the dangers they pose to the world around them” Meredith idly trailed her fingers across the surface of the desk. “I believe your mother was among those to fall victim to the harsh touch of an apostate mage”

To hear Meredith talk of her mother so soon after her death was heartbreaking, and it was all she could bare to take. “Knight Commander, it has been a pleasure meeting with you” Bethany placed her hands on the desk as she rose herself to her feet. “But I am afraid this is where I must take my leave. Good day”

With her final peace made Bethany raised herself to her feet and without a moment’s hesitation she departed towards the entrance of the library.

_I wouldn’t take another step if I were you._

Bethany stopped in her step. Looking back over her shoulder she saw another dressed in the flowing blue robes of the Chanters Circle. The figure reached up to cast the hood of their robes with an elegant flutter. “ _It’s been a long time cutie_ ”

She knew this person, a leader of a band of elven smugglers who had secured her family’s safe passage into the city in exchange of the services of Bethany and her sister for the first year. “Athenril, did the Knight Commander bring you here to kill me?”

“I am wounded; on the contrary I’m going to allow you to walk straight out the door if that is what you wish. But just be aware that if you do you will permanently lose all your magical abilities by the time you reach your quarters”

The thinly veiled threat swiftly silenced her beating heart for the briefest of moments.

“You’re wondering what I mean? Well I changed your water for a special little brew made specifically to combat you pesky magic users. It’s completely colourless, odourless and tasteless; frankly it’s almost impossible to tell the difference between this and water” Bethany was silently stunned by the frank admittance. “Oh don’t worry it won’t kill you outright” the reassurance fell flat. “All it does is dampen your magical abilities to the point where you can no longer complete your little incantations. It affects your, uh, Mana, essence, whatever it is you people use, and turns it into a poison in your body making you impotent to all of your magic abilities”

Bethany had read a text referencing a poison whose affects bore a remarkable resemblance to what she had just described. It was a poison created exclusively by a dedicated sect of the Templar order, due to the rarity of the ingredients and specialist skill required to craft the poison its existence was not common knowledge. Not so much considered a secret as merely obscure, a chemical tranquillity.

“I wouldn’t test it mind you” Athenril drew her attention back to her. “They say that using magic while the poison is in your system only makes things worse, something about boiling yourself from the inside out”

The more she heard about it the more futile any attempts at resistance appeared. “Then how do I...”

“You’ll be happy to know that I have some of the antidote right here” Athenril reached into the pocket of her robes and drew out a single vial of royal blue liquid. “It is yours if you wish it”

“For what price?” Bethany dared to ask.

“Well that’s not particularly grateful” Athenril said with a spiked tongue. “If you were dying in the desert and someone offered you water I suspect you would ask where it came from”

“Tsk tsk, how did you ever grow to be so suspicious?”

“My uncle selling my sister and I into slavery may have instilled some sense of caution in me”

Athenril shook her head. “It’s here if you want it. All you have to do is step forward and take it”

Bethany knew that any attempt at trusting this woman by offering her hand would likely only end with the foxes teeth around her wrist. Yet perhaps the truth was that a year of service working together would actually hold some weight.

Bethany dared to take a cautious step forward towards the offering. When no divine retributions emerged to strike her down she dared another cautious step forward. Raising her hand from her side her finger tips grazed the cold glass only to have it snatched from her grasp before she could touch it.

In a single motion Athenril raised the vial to her lips and gulped down its contents with a coy smile creasing her lips. “Whoopsie” Athenril giggled with child like glee. “Sorry about that. It’s pretty potent stuff mind you” a sinister smirk crept onto her lips. “Perhaps there is still a chance you could get some of the antidote from another ‘source’” Athenril licked her lips deviously suggestively.

Bethany remained silently defiant in the face of ever growing state of dismay lingering between them. “You cannot be serious”

Athenril shrugged dismissively. “Well if you don’t want it then by all means-”

Bethany quickly swallowed her pride and stepped forward to embrace Athenril tightly in her arms. “I and my sister served you” Bethany stared at the elf with fire in her eyes. “We each gave a year of our lives to you and this is how you treat us in return”

“It’s just business cutie” Athenril held Bethany’s cheeks in her hands. “Meredith promised me a taste of you in repayment for my assistance”

“I did not know that your honour could be bought so cheaply, I wonder why you did not simply take me when I was in your service”

“Don’t you know that workplace romances never work out?” Athenril sneered.

With her pride caught in her throat Bethany dared herself to press her lips to Athenril in an exchange of tender embraces. Although there was no calm serenity or fiery passions behind her kiss the physical contact between the two bodies elicited some primal sparks of ecstasy passing between them. Bethany felt the touch of an explorative tongue touching and probing at any area she dare find.

Athenril was first to part their contested lips. “Hmm, tasty” she mused, licking her lips with quizzical curiosity. “Now that’s taken care of” Athenril patted the back of an empty seat. “Why don’t you come sit down here cutie?”

Bethany stepped forward with uncertain feet as she descended into the offered seat. Athenril reached out to rub and caress her shoulders in an effort to relieve the build up of tension which engulfed her shoulders. “Just relax” Athenril whispered in her ear.

“I won’t help you” Bethany said resolutely.

“With what will you not help me?” Meredith asked with a cocked head like a Mabari bemused at a new trick.

“I will not help you hunt my sister” Bethany reiterated with a forceful tongue.

“When did I ever ask you to work against her?” Meredith asked.

“You know” Athenril interrupted. “I think that dose I gave you would only be enough to stave off the poison for a few more hours. I would say at least one more will be needed to keep the taint at bay”

Bethany shook her head in utter disbelief and contempt. “I cannot believe it”

“You could always just walk out right now if you wish” Athenril stepped aside, holding her arm out invitingly. “Take your chances”

Bethany remained shore footed in the face of an offer of retreat, she knew in her heart that no matter how difficult the situation became she would not waver and she would not surrender in the face of intimidation.

“I’ll take your steadfast refusal to take the easy way out of the situation as a yes” Athenril accepted Bethany’s silent willingness with an unsettlingly gleeful smile.

“I believe what you require is concealed somewhere upon the person of our dear Knight Commander” Athenril sat herself down upon a s seat, raising her feet up onto the table she tipped herself back with hands clasped behind her head. “You need to do the searching yourself”

“How do I know that that you are not lying to me?” Bethany asked with a spiked tongue.

“You don’t” Athenril replied flatly.

Bethany lingered in front of Meredith, looking her up and down as a suitor assessing their bride.

“Alright” Athenril clapped her hands together as she stepped down from her position. “As a gesture of good faith, I’ll give you a hint. It’s not in her robes” Athenril stepped behind Meredith. “So I guess that means we can get rid of these”

Athenrils long fingers reached forward across Meredith’s front to clutch the two halves of Meredith’s robes, pulling them apart to reveal that the Knight Commander truly was wearing no clothes. The long flowing blue robes spilled down over her athletic frame and ample bosom to pool at her feet. All throughout this Meredith stood unwavering and silent as the world moved around her. It seemed strange for her to willingly relinquish control to another-

“I have to admit” Meredith’s voice finally awoke from slumber. “There is a certain illicit thrill in relinquishing control, allowing another to dictate terms” Meredith looked back over her shoulder, reaching her hand up she caressed Athenrils chin resting upon her shoulder. Meredith leant back to accept Athenrils lips into her own with a feline purr. Athenril’s hands slipped beneath Meredith’s arms to cup the mounds of Meredith’s chest in her hands, eliciting a soft moan from her partner as she played and toyed with Meredith’s engorged nipples as she wished. The elves agile hands caressed, squeezed and savoured Meredith’s chest as she wished, enjoying the weight and soft malleability held within her fingers.

Athenril released Meredith’s right bosom. The Knight Commander quickly raised her hand to her breast in a desperate effort to maintain the warm embrace welling within her bosom. Athenrils free hand beckoned Bethany to her with a coy finger. Her hands quickly return their attentions Meredith, but not in a way she may have wished. Athenrils hands, rather than reaching up to resume her administrations upon her heaving chest, reached up to clasp Meredith’s wrists in her hands and pull them back tightly against her shoulders.

Bethany knelt in front of Meredith, Athenril felt Meredith’s hands instinctively resisting against constraint. “One other thing” Athenril sneered. “You have to search with your tongue”

Bethany leant forward, carefully placing the tip of her tongue to the nape of Meredith’s neck, feeling the warmth radiating from her. Bethany dared a sensual lick up the side of Meredith’s neck, eliciting a cusped breath from the woman. Bethany’s tongue cautiously began its descent downwards. “Warmer” Athenril smirked with a cat like grin. Bethany’s tongue dared an unexpected diversion across Meredith’s chest towards her engorged nipple, licking and sucking to bring the sensitive nub to erection. The unanticipated caress elicited a soft coo from the generally stoic commander of the Knights Templar.

“Cooler” Athenril announced.

An unexpected result to say the least. Bethany obediently returned her explorative tongue to the centre of Meredith’s chest and resumed her descent down her flat stomach. She knew in her heart where she was heading.

“Warmer” Athenriels voice confirmed her suspicions as she continued her descent across Meredith’s flat stomach she felt the warmth rising from below to wash over-

Bethany felt hands reach across her shoulders and down to her chest. Bethany leapt back as she felt the joint of her Mage robes, she turned back to face Athenril with piercing eyes.

“What?” Athenril asked. “I just thought I’d help you get a little more comfortable” Bethany remained silent. “Ah, she’s self conscious”

Athenril stepped back, reaching up to hold the clasp of her robes betwixt her fingers. “Very well, I’ll go first”

Athenril released the tie of her robes allowing them to freely cascade across her athletic frame, revealing the tight red and black corset beneath. She began to realise that these two had clearly entered into this arrangement with the intention of reaching this moment. Meredith’s sculpted body and ample chest were juxtaposition to Athenrils lithe and elegant physique.

“I think it’s her opportunity to feel a little of your warmth” Meredith spoke. Rising from her knees Meredith loomed over them, clutching Bethany’s shoulders she turned Bethany to face her former elven employer. Athenriels long fingers crept down her front to tickle and tease at any point of soft flesh she could reach. Her fingers came to rest at the seams where the base of her underwear met her pale white thighs. Athenrils fingers slipped beneath the trim of her underwear, revealing the bright red, shaven lips which shared a remarkable resemblance to the insignia of the Blooming Rose.

Meredith pressed herself against Bethany’s back forcing Bethany forward with her weight, feeling the warmth of her bare body radiating through her thin clothing. Meredith leant forward; Bethany knew where her imposed duty lay. Bethany pressed her lips to Athenriels pussy, savouring the sweet tastes of the woman’s elven nectar as it washed over her tounge.

Athenrils thighs closed tightly around Bethany’s head, pressing her from all sides into Athenrils lips. Athenril began to coo softly beneath her breath, reaching up with her right hand to pass her fingers through Bethany’s raven black hair. Athenril combed her fingers through Bethany’s hair, enjoying the silky smoothness as her fingers glided effortlessly across her crown.

Athenril reached up to clutch her covered breast beneath her corset, patting and caressing at the pert nipple which dared to rise to attention from beneath the form fitting fabric. Athenril looked up and nodded to Meredith, unable to relinquish her hands for even the briefest moments.

Meredith crept forward while Bethany remained consumed with her attentions towards Athenril; clutching Bethany’s shoulders in her hands she pressed her face to the scruff of Bethany’s robes. Biting the soft fabric between her teeth Meredith yanked Bethany’s robes from her shoulders to reveal the girls ample bust.

“You’re doing rather well” Athenril said. “Are you sure you’ve never done this before?” Athenril sniggered. “A little more searching and you’ll have all that you desire”

“I thought you said the antidote was on Meredith”

“Well, it is and it isn’t” Athenril said coyly. “Only once you have performed a service for our dear knight commander will the antidote reveal itself” Bethany knew that she was close to revealing the antidote if only she-

Whilst she had been pre-occupied with Athenril Meredith had retrieved an object from amongst her discarded clothing. It closely resembled something Varric had ‘gifted’ for her sister after Merrill moved in as something of a corrupted engagement present. Two opposing shafts glowing with a dim blue light held together with a collection of leather straps and buckles. Bethany recognised the glow as a creation of Lyrium. The fact that she was willing to desecrate this sacred place through the use of magic, especially for such deviant purposes showed her callous disregard for the ideals she was tasked to uphold. Without a word Meredith clasped the phallus in her hands as she inserted it into herself with a soft moan, securing the straps tightly around her waist.

“This is quite the interesting piece of equipment” Athenril smiled. “It is tied to the dear Knight Commanders nervous system. Only once she reaches the point of climax I will reveal the antidote. So if you want the antidote” Athenril held the shaft of the toy in her hands, sending a pleasurable tremor reeling through Meredith’s body. “This has to go in you”

Bethany fought to stay her tongue at the sheer audacity of Athenrils latest proposition to defame herself at the hands of her Templar master. Bethany felt Athenrils lithe and elegant hands on her shoulders. “Feel free to wet it a little if you want”

Bethany sat kneeling in front of Meredith, staring at the size and shape of the task which lay before her. In her youth she had envisioned a single final act of defiance in the face of Templar oppression, a single spark which would ignite an uprising against those who schemed to contain them. The reality was a stark contrast in which Bethany found herself swallowing her pride she willingly bowed herself to the will of the Knight Commander.

Bethany leant forward and kissed the engorged tip of the false phallus, planting a soft array of kisses across the very end. Initial contact established Bethany advanced and retreated again and again, consuming more and more of the length with each pass. Her limit was found as her lips reached the halfway mark.

While Bethany had expected the Knight Commander to force her to linger upon the cusp of her limit, instead she chose to have her drawn away with a wet pop. The supposed mercy was short lived however as Bethany quickly found herself thrust onto her back and spread eagle across the floor of the Circle library. Meredith crept atop her younger prey like a proud Mabari Warhound preparing to savour its freshly caught prey. She felt the woman’s breath caress her face, the warm caress of another’s voice as she whispered the tainted mimicry of sweet nothings into her ear. Meredith pierced Bethany’s outer lips with an adventurous press of her hips, releasing the looming tension with a single motion she thrust herself forward to bury her phallus into Bethany’s accommodating lips.

Athenril eagerly sat watching the proceedings with vested interest, gently teasing her engorged nipples with one hand whilst her other hand descended down her front to bury her hands between her legs and tease at her exposed lips. However quickly she found herself unable to satiate her lust of her own accord, she quickly began to take on a more personal role once more.

Athenril loomed over the young girl; reaching down with a free hand she ruffled the girls raven black locks between her fingers. Athenril pressed the girls face to her drizzling lips, goading the young mage into sating her ever growing lust with her tongue. Bethany willingly complied, sticking her tongue out to caress with her tongue. Bethany willingly complied, sticking her tongue out to caress up and down Athenrils puckered lips, kissing and swishing across the elves lips before her. The three of them felt their pleasure simmering, their moans rising in concert as they neared their approaching climax. Their pleasure reached its peak in unison, Bethany fell to the floor panting through quivering lips as the pleasure washed over her.

Bethany felt any remaining strength seep from her limbs, her body falling limp onto the floor in a heap. Her heart raged in her chest and her breath rapidly drawing in as much air as she could in a desperate effort to remain lucid. When she felt the hands caress upon her body she thought they were a mere illusion, a figment of a corrupted imagination and failed to take notice. Reaching over the hands drew her arms behind her back, the harsh kiss of rope rubbing against her bare skin.

“What are...” she forced the question past her lips. “What are you doing?”

“Play along” Athenrils soft voice reassured her. “I enjoy being a little kinky. Just think of it as a scene from Reservoir Mabari” Athenril pulled on the knot tightly, ensuring the line was secure.

Athenril stood without a word, stepping across the library in silence she pulled out a concealed bag from behind the bookshelf. Bethany’s mind ran wild with imagination and thought of what fresh perversions Athenril had devised now. Athenril pulled open the bag, revealing a collection of elven armour and weaponry. Bethany watched in silence as Athenril redressed without a word.

“What about the antidote?” Bethany asked through quivering lips.

Athenril secured the final strap of her armour around her waist, a trickster’s smile creasing her lips. The mask of illusion was shattered, Athenril knew the facade could no longer be maintained and burst into a low chuckle.

“The truth is I’ve been a very bad girl” Athenril bowed her head and smiled through clenched teeth. “Remember when I said how it was impossible to tell the difference between the poison and regular water? Well the truth is it is rather a double edged sword”

The realisation struck Bethany into silence.

“Yeah, you’ve actually been able to use your little magic tricks to break free ever since we started this” Athenril chuckled.

Rage overtook confusion; Bethany instinctively thrust herself out in preparation to launch a salvo of fire-

Her bound wrists bit against the rough rope, the harsh reality of her situation returning to her.

“You see” Athenril smiled devilishly. “Just feed a little doubt into the mind and it creates its own reality”

“How could you do this?” Bethany spat.

“I offered you your freedom so many times, and yet you choose to refuse it” Athenril said snidely.

“I and my sister trusted you” Bethany growled, straining fruitless against her restraints.

“I do trust you. I just didn’t want you fire balling me before I had a chance to take my leave” Athenril turned to Meredith. “Knight Commander, it’s been a pleasure” Athenril gave a mock bow to the Templar Knight. “And with all respects, I sincerely pray to the Dread Wolf that are paths should never cross again”

Athenril swiftly turned on her heel and departed the library without the utterance of another word, leaving Bethany and Meredith in the cavernous room.

Bethany felt a twinge of despair that she could have been deceived, perhaps deep inside she had known of the deception since it had begun.

“It seems that it is just us now, little one” Meredith whispered, kneeling down beside her bound captive.

Even in her darkest moment, as she could feel the weight of the world descending upon her shoulders Bethany remained defiant to the very end. “Do you plan to kill me now?” she dared ask.

“Fear not little one” Meredith caressed her fingers across Bethany’s cheek as she would comfort a child even as the glint of a pointed dagger emerged in her other hand. “I have a plan for you"


	6. The Hawke and the Tyrant

All around them the city carried the thin tension of looming conflict hanging thick in the air.

Hawke lead her group, Aveline, Merrill and Shadow, through the streets of the Lowtown market towards the city centre. Their leader walked with purpose and conviction, parting the way through the streets as people scampered left and right in their approach. Reaching the cusp of the marketplace they were met by the sight of two of the most powerful political figures of the city engaged in a war of the words.

“You have gone too far this time Meredith, we cannot stand for this” Orsino said, a group of his most loyal acolytes standing at his back.

“It is my duty to root out all sources of treachery and disdain” Meredith responded, the steel of her Templars armour only sharpening her bladed tongue.

“You see treachery everywhere you look” Orisino’s regal bearing swiftly began to falter in the face of Meredith's unwavering accusations. “Is there nothing that will-”

“Meredith!” Hawkes voice pierced the conflict and drew the eyes of all those involved.

“Ah” Meredith cooed at Hawkes approach. “And so the Champion choose to grace us with her presence”

“Finally” Orsino said. “Perhaps you will be able to talk some sense-”

Hawke ignored him, her eyes glowing with blood red fury, pointing an accusing finger at Meredith. “The only thing stopping me from running my sword through you where you stand is that I know neither Bethany nor Merrill would wish that upon anyone. They are gentle souls, unlike you!”

Meredith dismissed the accusation with a shrug of her shoulders. “Whatever do you mean Champion?” Meredith feigned ignorance so casually Hawke suspected that the Knight Commander actually believed her own lies. The revelation sickened Hawke to the deepest pit of her stomach.

“The people of this city deserve to know what you have done Meredith, and the gravity of the sins you have committed”

Orsino was taken aback by the sudden turn of events. “What is she talking about, what have you done Meredith?”

The façade was broken. “What I have done is protect the people of this city” Meredith’s rage allowed her unfettered emotions to seep into her usually controlled voice. “What I have done is guarded these mages against corruption. What I have done is prevented the downfall of this city. You, Champion, have abused your power and made traitorous threats against the city and its people. It is you who should confess your sins before-”

A thunderous roar shattered the sky and parted the clouds with its fury. A beam of bright light suddenly emerged from within the Chantry walls rising into the sky only for the swell of energy to shatter the building in its wake. What remained was little more than a flurry of heat and smoke.

“Oh the Maker” all that Meredith could dare to whisper beneath her shaken breath.

“What have you done?” Orsino said breathlessly.

Meredith’s shock quickly turned to anger. “You see” Meredith turned in a single motion to point an accusing finger at Serah Hawke with the tip of her drawn sword. Hawkes companions quickly readied their weapons in anticipation of a fight. “Serah Hawke threatened to destroy the Chantry and now she has dared to make good on her threats”

“Knight Commander you cannot mean” Orsino began to protest only to be silenced once more.

“Serah Hawke has wilfully abandoned her duty to consort with demons and blood mages” Meredith said.

“It is you who turned against the city Meredith, not I” Hawke responded. “It is you who held others against their will, forced them to submit to your twisted deviancy. You long to purge the world of vice and sin and yet you see corruption everywhere except within”

“The only sin I see is you, Hawke” Meredith spat. “You and the corrupted mages you claim to stand for and I cannot allow it to continue”

“Knight Commander, do not do anything rash-” Orsino pleaded for sanity.

“By the Order of the Knights Templar I enact the Right of Annulment” Meredith continued without question. “We cannot allow our city to fall to corruption; the Circle must be purged in fire!”

 

*************************

The mood of an entire city changed in a moment. The delicate balance of the looming threat of violence was shaken, each side charged headlong into the fray with little reason or regard other than knowing any who stood in their way deserved swift death at their hands.

Hawke and her companions quickly found themselves caught between two warring factions preparing to tear the city asunder. All around them Templar Knights drew their swords and began clashing with any mage that passed their gaze; many acolytes fell to their blades before they could raise any form of magical defence. The sacrifice of the first line of mages allowed their comrades the time necessary to prepare their intricate spells and launch a flurry of fire and ice crystals to consume the Templar Knights in their fury. As the Mages began to rally behind the banner of their Champion the Templar Knights began an organised retreat away from the contested marketplace.

“The Knight Commander has fled the battle” Merrill announced.

“She will have fled to the Gallows to rally the bulk of her Knights” Aveline wiped the fresh slick of blood from her sword but refused to sheath her weapon in looming dread of another ambush. “We need to get there before-”

“Sister!” a familiar voice broke the combined roar of a city at war. Hawke turned to see a single individual pressing her way through the assembled mass of the Mages, her raven black hair and deep golden eyes made her immediately indistinguishable from any other.

“Bethany!” Hawke ran forward to hold her sister in a close embrace, careful to avoid crushing her beneath the heavy bulk of her armour. “I’ve missed you so much”

The touching family reunion was brief however as her companions were quick to remind them both of the ever more dire situation they found themselves in as the city braced itself for all out conflict. Yet despite the ever growing danger Bethany insisted that she follow her sister in what could very well be the finest of their final hours together.

“Shadow” Hawke summoned her faithful Mabari Hound to her side, the noble beast ambling to her side on its stubby legs as she knelt down to greet him with a playful rub behind the ear. “Listen Shadow” the hounds ears perked in anticipation of new ways to please his master, such was the extent of his devotion and his loyalty. “I need you to go back to the estate and protect Orana and Uncle Gamlen. Can you do that?”

Shadow barked happily in acknowledgement. “Good boy” Hawkes fingers tickled under his chin, feeling the loose folds of skin flopping between her fingers. “You’re just a big Templar munching puppy aren’t you?” with a final eager bark Shadow speedily ran off in the direction of Hightown.

“That dog never ceases to amaze me” Bethany idly mused.

 

*************************

The war raged through the city, Mage and Templar clashing in the streets with the desperate people fleeing for their lives or barricading themselves indoors in hopes of allowing the looming threat to pass them by.

“I need to know” Bethany asked. “How did you know to be here?”

“It was your letter of course” Hawke replied. “You spoke of games we never played, people we never knew. We only worked for Athenril for a year to pay our way into the city, and since when did Uncle Gamlen live in the docks?”

“I wish I could have told you more but Meredith’s spies were watching me, I could not think of any other way to tell you of what was about to occur” Bethany said.

That had been her plan all along, to force Hawke through the threat and manipulation of her family, only to draw her in and ensnare her in a tangle of lies and deceit.

“Don’t blame yourself Bethany” Brianna reassured her sister. “It was your warning which brought me here, which may go a long way towards saving the city from total destruction”

 

Descending into the docks Hawke and her party were quick to requisition a ship to take them across the bay towards the city Gallows. Despite the power vacuum which had existed since the death of the Viscount the Knight Commander had shunned the Viscounts Seat in favour of securing a personal citadel for herself and her soldiers. It would prove a difficult fortress to conquer.

Hawke lingered on the deck of the ship staring out over the bay. She closed her eyes and listened to the slosh of the water against the hull of the ship, allowing her mind to empty and calm in anticipation of the looming battle to come.

She heard the clank of the metal as they prepared, interlaced with the arcane prayers in preparation of enchantments and magic. Amongst the vibrant crescendo of noise Hawke heard the faint patter of feet across the deck of the ship, her elven lover emerging beside her. “I had a dream last night” Merrill said, leaning against the side of the ship. “You and I were flying over the peaks of Sundermount, free from danger and deception. We flew aloft in the clouds atop the crimson wings of a magnificent Griffon”

As she listened to Merrill’s recount of her dream Hawke could not help but smile as she leant forward to wrap her arms around her lover, each bathed in the silver moonlight washing down over them. “I called him Feathers” Merrill whispered.

 

*****************************

They stormed into the open square with weapons drawn and ready to face whatever dared to confront them.

“And here we are Champion” Meredith stood alone at the steps of the Citadel. “In the place where this all began, a rather fitting end to have your final resting place be the place where you first dared to challenge my authority”

Hawke approached cautiously, stopping short of allowing their blades to clash. “It ends here, Meredith”

“You dare to make threats” Meredith growled. “You forget who holds your leash; you dare to go against the one whose chains bind you”

“No longer, Meredith. Through hardship, loyalty and love I gain strength, through strength my chains were broken”

“So the pup thinks that she is a battle bred Mabari?” Meredith sneered devilishly. “It does not matter, you will still die here today” Meredith raised her free hand in an elegant flourish.

The high walls suddenly reverberated with the thunderous roar of armour and weapons as Templar Knight after Knight poured into the square, one after another following in their wake. The soldiers formed up with military efficiency, encircling the intruders from all sides with an unbroken circle of snow white armour.

Meredith’s confidence bolstered by the presence of her soldiers Meredith declared her order. “Knights, arrest the Champion”

“Knight Commander I must protest” a single Knight stepped forward from amongst the assembled masses. Hawke recognised him as Knight Captain Cullen, Meredith’s second in command. Hawke knew that despite his position in the Order Cullen was a good man who wished only to do his duty in protecting the Circle of Magi.

“Silence” Meredith cast aside her subordinates’ objection. “She is a traitor and a demon conspirator who destroyed the Chantry-”

“No Meredith” a voice pierced the confrontation, Bethany pushing herself to the forefront of the group. “It was you who turned against the Chantry”

“Ah” a superior smile emerged on Meredith’s lips. “So, little Bethany has finally chosen to grace us with her presence”

“This had been your plan all along wasn’t it Meredith” Bethany accused. “The deception, the threats, and the evils you have committed. You whispered your schemes in my ear, you wished my sister to be disgraced before she died”

“Knight Commander, what is she talking about?” Knight Captain Cullen asked, the merest indication of insubordination a death sentence in the current state.

Meredith merely smiled. “I must thank you bringing us to this impasse. I admit that it was your letter that brought Hawke before the Chantry, without such a believable patsy I would not have be able to finally purge the Mages from this city”

“Knight Commander you cannot be serious” Cullen continued to protest, unable or unwilling to accept the revelation of the Knight Commanders corruption.

“You wished to see me dead, Meredith” Hawkes voice carried through the open square as she presented herself to her enemy, a single long sword  in her hand. “But I will not die today” Hawke brandished the tip of the blade like an accusing finger. “I challenge you to single combat; let us see who shall ultimately prevail”

Meredith smiled devilishly, readying her weapon. “Very well, then let one remain standing before the Maker” Meredith thrust the blade of her sword at her opponent. “And may he guide my blade”

With fury burning in her eyes she charged forward like a rampaging lion eager for the kill she had long been denied. Meredith brought the fiery red blade of her sword down upon her opponent, Hawke dodged the swing and countered with the blade of her sword accompanied by the sharp screech of metal striking metal. Each fought to gain a foothold over the other, pure strength and will forced together as they tried to drive the combined weapons forward. Eventually the stalemate was broken as the bladed edges scrapped over each other with a resounding shriek and the two combatants separated to stare each other down at the tips of their swords.

“You’ve failed Meredith” Hawke said. “You focused so much on the big picture you forgot it was made up of smaller pictures; it becomes hard to see that picture from behind a mound of the corpses of the innocent”

“It matters not” Meredith was unwavering in her devotion. “The Right of Annulment has been invoked, the Circle must be purged. There can be no compromise”

Meredith charged forward once again, throwing all of her weight behind an overhead swing to bring the full force of her blade crashing down upon her opponent. The opening allowed Hawke the moment she needed to strike Meredith’s side; her thick armour absorbed the cut but transferred the blunt force of the impact. Meredith pressed forward, the bodies of their armour clashing in a scrape of metal against metal. Meredith kicked out, striking Hawke in the stomach and throwing her back several steps and forcing her onto the defensive.

Once more on the attack Meredith came forward to close the distance and swing high, Hawke brought her weapon up to deflect the attack. She realised only too late it was a feint as Meredith’s sword descended in a swooping arc to sweep her feet out from under her. Hawke jumped to avoid the unexpected attack but the moment she left the ground she had irreversibly committed herself to the speed and direction of her jump. The moment of weakness allowed Meredith the opening she had needed to throw herself forward, the full weight of her armour crashing into Hawke and sending her sprawling across the courtyard with the sheer force of the impact

As Hawke lay sprawled on the floor she desperately sought to regain her footing as Meredith crept ever closer, sure in her victory and eager to deliver a killing blow. Hawke could see the opening, in creating the Knight Commanders armour they had sacrificed protection for unhindered movement in the arm and leg joints. In her only motion she could muster Hawke lashed out with her sword; the blade caught the opening in the back of her enemies exposed knee.

The sudden wound forced Meredith to stumble backwards onto her other leg, allowing Hawke the freedom of movement necessary to pull herself back to her feet. Meredith regained her stance and attempted another brutal attack, in her slowed state Hawke managed to deliver another cut across her exposed arm. Meredith clutched at her wound in a desperate attempt to stem the tide of blood.

Meredith lashed out with one hand clutching her weapon, the sheer weight of her unsupported weapon slowed her and allowed Hawke to cut deeply into her thigh. The final wound swept her support from under her as she was cast her to the floor; forcing Meredith to her knee she braced her weight atop her blade. The battle was done.

“You have fallen, Meredith” Hawke said. “Your actions shall be cast into the void of history and your name shall carry no more”

“On the contrary” Meredith raised herself on shaking feet. “ _The Maker himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of him, and if children, then heirs, heirs of the Maker, provided we suffer that we may also be glorified with him._ I shall be rewarded, in this life or the next”

_“Stand down Meredith, do you really wish to sacrifice your life in vain?” Hawke pleaded for sanity._

_“No servant that died in the Makers name has ever died in vain” Meredith refused to falter. “There is only the Maker; he is our shield and protector”_ Meredith lifted her blade before her at arm’s length. “Knights, kill her!”

Her orders fell on deaf ears as her Templar Knights stood fast in the face of their Knight Commanders order. Only the Knight Captain Cullen dared step forward to address her. “I am afraid I cannot carry out that order” the Knight Captain unsheathed his sword. “By the authority of the Templar Order I am relieving you of Command”

As a single mass of armour the Templar Knights moved to surround their disgraced leader, swords drawn and shields raised in an impenetrable ring of steel.

“You see now that even your own soldiers will not bow to you, Meredith” Hawke said.

“No” Meredith coughed. “They are tainted by blood magic, they all are” her words seemed to reignite the flame within her brandished weapon from what was once dim in defeat, now crimson red. “I alone shall protect this city until my dying breath”

“But you need not die today. We can end this madness if only you would see the truth” Hawke once more tried to force her to see reason.

“To admit defeat is blasphemy against the maker, to die with my duty unfulfilled is heresy” Meredith brought the weight of her weapon to bear. “For there are those who stand in the face of the corruption, and do not falter!”

With pious determination Meredith charged forward in a final desperate attack. Hawke raised her sword in a vain effort to hold back her foe as the full fury of Meredith’s weapon down across Hawkes chest, the harsh crash of metal striking metal resonating through the open courtyard. The two combatants fought fiercely for domination until one blade finally found purchase and buried deeply into the assailant’s body. The two knights were held in a sombre embrace, each trapped in their final moment of conflict.

Meredith wheezed, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. _“Though my soldiers forsake me the Maker will welcome me with golden arms”_ Meredith’s sword slipped from her hand and struck the ground with a metallic clang. “Oh that I had wings of an angel” Meredith forced looked up into the sky. “Then I would fly away, and be at rest” her body collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

Hawke shakily forced herself to her feet, heaving her weapon in her hand she rose herself to her full bloodstained glory over the remains of her defeated enemy. But just at her seeming moment of triumph her strength suddenly left her, the once proud woman collapsing to her knees in the heart of the square.

Merrill and Bethany were quick to run to her side, both only concerned with ensuring the health of the one they cared for. Bethany’s hand pressed to her sisters chest, her finger tips returning a dark shade of crimson. “You’re covered in blood

Hawke chuckled. “It’s ok” she said with a forced smile “It’s not mine”

“Come on, we need to get out of here” Bethany and Merrill reached down to lift their wounded leader between their shoulders for support.

Aveline, ever the warrior at heart, maintained her situational awareness in the eve of the battle and was the first to pre-warn them that the true danger had yet to pass. So when the Templar Knights stepped forward to encircle them, their weapons drawn and their shields rose, Aveline was prepared to stand a firm defence against the first sign of aggression.

From amongst the assembled Templar’s emerged Knight Captain Cullen. Though the man and his knights had defied the Knight Commanders rule the truth of what lay within his heart was still unknown.

“Go now Champion” Cullen raised his hand, his soldiers parting at his command, allowing them safe passage to the gates of the city. “We will explain the circumstances to the Order. You have my word; they will hunt you no longer”

Hawke shuffled forward towards the docks, the support of her lover and her sister keeping her on her feet while Aveline maintaining a watchful vigil of their backs in the wake of their retreat.

“Are you sure we should leave like this?” Bethany asked. “Shouldn’t the people not know the person who saved the city from its destruction, should they not know their hero?”

“Their hero can be anyone” Hawke winced through the pain. “Even a Knight who chose to stand and defy the masters of his Order”

 

 

_And so the story of the champion came to its conclusion. For over a decade we felt the fire of every Templar, every Mage, bound by the cross-fire of politics and anger as they rose towards their final confrontation. When the Templar reinforcements arrived they found the city ablaze._

_The Knight Captain explained how Meredith had become corrupted by demonic essence and attempted to unjustly purge the Circle. He said that if it were not for the Champions swift intervention the entire city would have been lost. But when questioned of the Champions fate the Captain simply replied that it was the Makers will that she give her life to save the city and that she had now found her place by his side._

_So to the entire world the Champion of Kirkwall was no more. It was the end of a valiant tale, a bold adventure spanning both sides of the veil. But we both know that’s not true, realities few know and even fewer are willing to accept._

_After that each of us parted and sought our own path in the world, expect Merrill of course. Despite all that had happened you just couldn’t keep those two apart. But who knows where they wander, they could be anywhere by now. For all we know they could be flying over the peak of Sundermount on the crimson wings of a golden Griffon. Daisy would have named him ‘Feathers’._


	7. Epilouge

She was gliding through the air, soaring atop crimson wings. Her long brown hair fluttered in the breeze as she flew over the snow capped mountains of Sundermount, at the base of which grew a lush forest where the camp of her people grew larger and more prosperous with each passing year.

On the horizon she could see the city of Kirkwall, its spires and towers of gleaming white rising above the streets of a city reborn after the flames of conflict had extinguished. A metropolis once ruled beneath the iron grasp of the Tevinter Imperium was now a free city unshackled by its dark past. In this city the elves were no longer confined to the slums of the Alienage, they were free to own property in Hightown, to trade and socialise with the humans, the dwarves and the many Elven tribes which passed through the city.

Feeling the happiness welling within her bosom she leant forward to nuzzle her nose into the soft neck of her proud mount, Feathers. Behind her Hawke wrapped her arms around her waist, burying the tip of her nose in the nape of her neck, feeling the warmth of her skin as she whispered sweet nothings in her ear.

Merrill leant back and held her arms aloft like wings gliding across the open skies. Finally, here she was safe, here she was free.

_Merrill_

She heard her voice being carried on the breeze and knew she had found her peace.

_Merrill, Merrill, Merrill._

Merrill held her arms high, her eyes closed, her song of peace humming beneath her breath.

“ _Merrill_ ” the voice repeated. “ _What are you doing?_ ”

Merrill continued to embrace her fantasy immune to the reality of her human lover laid bare beneath her on the bed as she rode her stomach like a fine mount, her arms held aloft in an intimate parody of a golden griffon.

“I’m flying” the words blissfully escaped Merrill’s smiling lips.


End file.
